New Friends, Old Friends
by koronda daruma
Summary: Shizuru has a new life and friends, but what happens when her old life catches up to her? ShizNat T because idk what the other ones mean. lol I don't own Mai-HiME.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Ok, so I'm trying to write again. This story might be a little messy so I apologize. I decided to write again because… I have finals. That's right. When I'm busy and super stressed, I try to do everything I can that ISN'T studying. Well, it's not finals right now, but instead of writing a million papers in English, half a million in Japanese and preparing for presentations and studying, I decided to stay up until 2 in the morning writing. So here you go. It's probably shit so I apologize.

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It's been almost two years since the carnival and Shizuru has not spoken to Natsuki since her graduation. It was really hard at first, but after the first year, she slowly started to miss her less and less. It went from thinking about her all day and crying herself to sleep, to just thinking about her at night, to thinking about her every other day, to once a week. She knows that she'll never forget her, but now, she only thinks Natsuki when something will remind her of her or when she's really lonely.

Like in her high school days before she met Natsuki, Shizuru kept her distance from other people and never established close relationships with anyone. She had a few friends but tried her best not to get too close to anyone again. It wasn't that she didn't trust anyone anymore; it's just that she didn't want her heart to be broken again. She refused to fall in love ever again. After the carnival, Shizuru wanted to rid herself of her old life. She severed all ties to all the HiME and tried her best to forget about the whole ordeal. Deciding that moving back to Kyoto would be the easiest way to do this, she started attending Kyodai.

Shizuru tried her best to keep a low profile. She didn't have any reason to be in the student council anymore so she steered clear of that, but with her good looks and her top marks, it was hard not to gain attention. One friend got fairly close to her though. Chihiro was quiet and stoic, but it was her who approached Shizuru. They had a traditional Japanese literature class together and Chihiro was not doing so well. Of course Shizuru was the top of the class so Chihiro shyly approached her.

That was freshman year, and they've been close friends since. Right after getting into college, Shizuru didn't want to talk to anyone, especially someone that reminded her of Natsuki. Honestly, Chihiro wouldn't have bothered with her if she was getting passing marks, but because of this, their friendship was built. Chihiro then became someone that Shizuru could trust with anything if she ever needed someone to help her, but she would never talk about the past. Chihiro never asked, but she did indeed wondered why she never talked about any high school memories.

Shizuru lived by herself in an apartment around 15 minutes away from school, but even though Shizuru tutored Chihiro many times, not once was it at Shizuru's place. Shizuru never invited Chihiro and she was certainly not going to invite herself, but because of that, she felt that they had some kind of distance between them and that Shizuru wouldn't open herself truly to her.

Slowly but surely, Chihiro was enchanted by Shizuru. She admired the way she carried herself, with such grace, elegance and beauty in everything that she did. They never talked about life, love, or even friendship for that matter, so she couldn't tell how Shizuru felt about her or their relationship, or her past relationship with anyone. This mysterious side of her appealed to Chihiro more and she started to get really curious what was going on behind those mysterious eyes. Those crimson eyes that always looked so distance and lonely, those eyes that seemed to look through her, not at her, those eyes that she gradually fell in love with.

* * *

The two of them usually came to school about an hour before classes actually started. They usually finished up homework, read, or just sat around and talked. Today was no different, but today was pouring and the two sat in the lounge for wondering why it was so empty. After going to first period and waiting for a half an hour, they realized that school was cancelled due to the oncoming storm. Deciding to leave, before it got worse, Chihiro gave Shizuru a ride home because she would not let her walk home in the pouring rain.

"It's fine" Shizuru protested, "really, it's not far at all."

"There is no way I'm letting you walk home! Are you crazy?"

"Excuse me?" Shizuru responded, slightly offended.

She couldn't say any more as she was dragged to the car by her arm. They had to run after exiting the building to avoid getting drenched. After getting to the car safely, they took a quick breather and put their seatbelts on. It was a quiet drive and a long one. They carefully maneuvered through traffic and the rain safely making it to the garage of the apartment.

"Thank you," Shizuru finally spoke up.

"No problem. It's nothing really. For all the times that you've helped me with everything, I could at least drive you home. I wish I could do more." Chihiro admitted.

"No, it's fine," Shizuru added while digging through her purse looking for her keys, "it's raining hard, would you like to come upstairs and wait for it to calm down a little before heading home?"

This was the first time that Shizuru ever invited anyone to her apartment, but she would feel bad if she sent one of her only friends to go face the cold, hard rain. Chihiro knew there was a reason Shizuru kept people at a distance, but didn't quiet know why. She kindly refused, not wanted to interfere in her personal space, but still Shizuru insisted.

After going to the seventh floor, Shizuru asked her to wait outside while she cleaned up a bit. Within five minutes, she let her in and started brewing a hot cup of tea. It was silent as the rain pour heavily outside. The apartment was quite homey, but it wasn't too small to feel uncomfortable. There was a TV with a loveseat in front of it; in the next room (where they are presently seated) there was a dinning table for four even though it was almost never used. The kitchen was separated by an island that had two seats located under it and it held all the appliances a kitchen needs.

"Please, make yourself at home" Shizuru said after starting the tea. "I'll be right back," she politely excused herself. She left the room to grab a few towels to dry off their hair.

Chihiro looked around some more and spotted the picture that she gave Shizuru a while back resting on the shelf next to the TV. It seemed to be the only one out on display and Chihiro took great pride in it. It was a picture of the two of them that they took when they went to go visit one of the local temples last summer. Shizuru stood there in a yukata with a small graceful smile on her face while one Chihiro's arms were draped over her shoulders holding out the peace sign.

Shizuru returned shortly handing her the towel and offered her a brush. Chihiro kindly accepted it and started walking around the house. "This is my living room and kitchen as you can see." Shizuru started giving her a short tour. "Here's the bathroom" opening the door and then closing it, "and this is my bedroom" opening to door the to bedroom.

Just as that happened, the teakettle went off signaling teatime. Shizuru walked back to the kitchen and started pouring the tea while Chihiro stepped into her bedroom. It was well kept; it had a dresser, a closet, and two large desks in the corner. One of the desks held her computer and some books while the other a lamp and it seemed like it was used as her workspace. There was also a small dresser next to her queen-sized bed that hand a small lamp and a reading book on top. Just as Chihiro was about to step out, something caught her eye. It was another picture frame, but this one was face down. She slowly walked up to it, curiosity getting the better of her, and she flipped it over.

After the tea was poured into two cups, Shizuru walked over to her bedroom where she left her guest. Quietly she stood at the door looking in where Chihiro was putting the picture back down.

"What are you doing?" Shizuru questioned but not upset. After a short pause she continued, "The tea is ready."

Like a child being caught doing something naughty, Chihiro quickly dropped the picture back on to the dresser and turned to face Shizuru. "Uh, sorry. Ok, uh, thanks" She stuttered out while walked towards the door.

Wondering why Chihiro was so flustered, Shizuru craned her neck to see what she was looking at. Then Chihiro realized that she was caught. "Sorry! I was just so curious, I couldn't help myself."

Shizuru sighed, "It's ok, it's just a picture." This was one of the things that Shizuru did not want Chihiro to see. She didn't want to bring up the past and didn't want to answer questions. That's why before letting her into her house, she made sure it was face down.

Taking the opportunity she questioned further. "Who is that?"

"It's a picture of me and one of my high school friends. I haven't talked to her in years though."

The picture was of Shizuru and Natsuki, the year before the carnival. Back when they were both just regular high school girls. Shizuru's true, honest smile adorned on her face while Natsuki's side was towards the camera. It looked as if she was trying to get away, but was stopped by Shizuru's arms holding her in a tight hug.

"What happened?" Chihiro trailed off, "You seemed so happy."

"Nothing, just after high school, everyone just fades out I guess." Shizuru calmly lied. She didn't want to talk about it and Chihiro really didn't have to know.

**

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A/N: **The end. JOUDAN! Haha (J/k in Japanese). I'm tired and so I think I'll stop here. I promise Natsuki will come up soon. Or so I hope. It depends. Oh well. Read and review. Tell me how much this sucks and how much you hate it! Thanks. Ok. Byebye.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Ok, so I'm totally fucked for tomorrow. I have a 2 papers and a presentation that I have to memorize, a test, and class where I was supposed to read 2 books and 2 handouts and only read the handouts, and a class where I'm going to have to do a 20 min presentation for soon and to top it off its 1 o'clock in the morning. And yeah... so I decided to write again. I can't believe people actually liked this story よかった。Thanks Kikyo4ever for the ideas. I'm actually really stumped on what to write so everyone please give me any ideas!! This chapter will be short so I apologize; I just wanted to procrastinate a little.

* * *

Chihiro felt that Shizuru had no reason to lie to her about such a thing, so she believed her full heartily. Grabbing her teacup from Shizuru's hand, Chihiro decided to unintentionally reopen Shizuru's wounds.

"What were you like in high school?" she asked curiously.

"I was a normal school girl. Although, I was the president of the student body, I still just attended all my classes, I had good friends, acquaintances, and the occasional fan-girl, I had good times, bad times, sad times, happy times, and I just did what I had to do to see the next day and be happy." Shizuru tried to make her answer as broad and generic and possible.

"Did you have any boyfriends?" Chihiro asked. This was the question that she really wanted to know the answer to. She didn't know what good the answer would be, but she still wanted to know.

Shizuru raised her eyebrows slightly surprised. "No… how come?" she answered honestly. They started making their way back into the kitchen area.

"Really!?" Shocked at this response, Chihiro looked up with disbelieving eyes, "Why not? You're so pretty! I figured the boys would be all over you!"

"Ara… Ookini." Shizuru wasn't really flattered by the comment, but by the honesty of it.

Finally realizing what she had said, Chihiro slapped her hands over her mouth and turned a slight shade of pink. "I mean… you know… yeah… uhh… so why?"

"Hmm…" Shizuru started while holding a finger next to her chin, "I had other things on my mind…" She started drifting while taking a seat. Chihiro following the cue, sat across the table. Chihiro waited for Shizuru to continue. She leaned on her hands that were propped up on the table while slightly leaning forward. She looked into Shizuru's eyes that seemed to be deep in thought.

"Like…" she urged.

"Natsuki." She said slightly over a whisper. It was a completely honest answer, but she knew that Chihiro would never guess what she thought of Natsuki or why she was too preoccupied to date other guys.

"Oh, is that your friend in that picture?" She replied, pointing in the direction of Shizuru's bedroom, "How come?"

"She was going through a rough time and I just wanted to be there for her. She always seemed to be so lonely, but never would admit it."

"Oh…" Not wanting to push her luck any further she stopped there. Even though they weren't talking, it was a relaxing silence. Because of the storm raging outside, Shizuru was in a good mood. The sound of the rain and the chill in the air was one of the best feelings in her opinion.

"So how about you?" Shizuru decided to continue the conversation, she didn't mind talking, as long it wasn't about her past.

"Nah, no boyfriends for me"

"Oh?"

"Yup," Chihiro got up from her seat and walked over to the couch in front of the TV, "just no interest." She plopped down, lying with her head slightly off the top and her arm over her eyes.

'What a simple answer' Shizuru thought to herself, 'I should've just said that.' She sighed and walked over and put her cup in the sink, "Natsuki, how have you been? It's been almost two years…" She whispered to herself resting her hands against the counter and leaning forward while in the other room Chihiro started falling asleep on the couch.

* * *

It was ending the school year and Natsuki and Mai guys were soon to graduate. After Shizuru left Natsuki had a hard time coping on her own. Throwing herself in her studies to keep her on track to graduate not only kept her mind busy so it couldn't wander to other thoughts, but it gave her an excuse to separate herself from her newly acquired HiME friends.

Natsuki was grateful for all that everyone has done for her, but it was just too hard loosing Shizuru that she decided that it wasn't worth it. No one objected, and they all slowly drifted apart. With all of her efforts in her last two years in high school, she managed to bring her grade up a lot. Taking AP classes boosted her GPA to one of the top in the class.

She often thought of Shizuru and the thoughts of her often lead to her crying herself to sleep. She couldn't quite place her finger on what she actually missed about her, but it seemed she didn't belong anywhere without her. She contemplated about looking for her, but her schoolwork left her with no free time. Schoolwork was just an excuse though, and she knew it. Since when did she care if she graduated on time or not? She just couldn't bring herself to believe that she was so desperate for company that she had to go looking for it.

When she was looking for schools, she applied to the nearby Fuuka Academy, which she planned to go, some community colleges as back-ups, and Todai and Kyodai for her long shots. She never thought she'd get into those schools and didn't know why she even bothered, but in her heart, she really wanted to go to Kyodai.

At the time, Natsuki didn't know that Shizuru was currently enrolled in that school, but because she missed her so much, she wanted to go to Kyoto. There, she would be able to hear the elegant Kyoto-ben, see people dressed in yukatas and kimonos, and see the culture that the person she loved grew up in. There, she would be able to see Shizuru in everything she saw, even if she wasn't able to see her in person.

Natsuki did love Shizuru, but she still didn't know in what way. Friends miss friends, but still, every time she thought of her, there was a slight pull in her chest. Sometimes the pull was a light tug, and sometimes it felt like her heart was going to be ripped out of her chest. She couldn't explain it, but sometimes it felt nice. It wasn't the feeling of hurt that she liked, it was just that she liked the feeling of knowing that she actually cared about someone and someone cared about her. Did Shizuru feel this way too?

Natsuki was accepted into all of the schools except Todai. She was surprised to see that she was actually accepted into Kyodai, and had to read the acceptance letter five times before it actually sank in. Unsure if she actually wanted to go or not, she thought about it for a while. Would she be able to leave everything that she had and loved here in Fuuka? 'Ha, who am I kidding. There is almost nothing left for me here but a bunch of sad, old memories.' She concluded. It was decided then, she would attend Kyodai the start of the next school year; she just had to graduate first.

Graduation was in less than a month and time was thankfully flying by quickly. Natsuki had no time for slacking, if she got anything lower than an A in any of her classes, she was pretty sure that her acceptance for Kyodai would be withdrawn. On graduation day she walked down the aisle to receive her diploma, but just as she was turning back to return to her seat, she saw a familiar figure getting up and leaving the audience.

'Shizuru?' Natsuki thought to herself while double taking to make sure that's what she really saw.

**

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A/N: **BUM BUM BUMM!! Ok. So it took me a really long time to write this because I actually had no idea what direction this was going and I feel that it was kinda rushed, but I have no idea how to fix it so… gomen ne? But I hope you liked it and will continue reading this pathetic excuse for a story. I succeeded in procrastinating and now I'm dead tired and didn't study. WOO! I think I know what direction this story maybe going, but any ideas would be nice! TTFN my Tomodachis


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Taking time out of my busy schedule to bring you another update!! Lol. Jk. But I really should get cracking on my studies. I just found out that my finals start next week!! 大変だよ！　じゃ〜とにかく、始めましょう！ (Can you guys read the Japanese?)

* * *

Natsuki turned around looking at the retreating figure. It was quite far away now but she just decided to dismiss it. 'No ways, who am I kidding? It's been years. What's happening to me?' Natsuki continued walking to her seat, slightly shaking her head trying to get the ghosts out.

_

* * *

One Week Ago._

"I'm going to Tokyo next weekend" Shizuru calmly told her friend at lunch. (I have no idea where Fuuka is, so I'm making it in Tokyo.)

"How come?" Chihiro asked curiously, "It's so far…" She was saddened by the fact that she'd be alone.

"Something important came up." Short and simple.

"Oh… I see…" Chihiro replied, beating around the bush, "Would, would you like company?"

Surprised, Shizuru raised her eyebrows before speaking. "No, I'll be fine. I'm a big girl you know." She added with a wink. This wink earned Shizuru a slight blush from Chihiro, not one that could compare to Natsuki though. 'Nothing can compare to Natsuki though…' she thought.

"Well… I was planning on heading out that way sooner or later anyways. It's been a while since I've been to that area and I should visit some of my relatives. Is it fine if I join you?" she tried not to sound too desperate.

"Really… I'll be quite busy…" Shizuru didn't really want Chihiro to be there, but how could she tell her?

"It's fine. We can just catch the shinkansen together and share a hotel, if that's ok with you…"

"If you insist... I'll be leaving Friday morning at 5 and returning on Sunday evening around 11. I have things to take care of on Saturday but I might be free on Sunday." She told her itinerary.

"Great, well, I better get going. I'll reserve my tickets and take care of the hotel. I'll see you tomorrow?" Chihiro said grabbing her plate and getting up.

"I'll be busy this week. I have a few things to take care of before I leave, I'll see you on the shinkansen. If you have any questions just call me" Shizuru said while getting up as well.

"Sounds good, I'll see you then! Bye!" Chihiro was really excited. You could always see all her emotions as if they were written in big letters across her forehead.

Shizuru planned to take this trip to clear her mind of school, and for once, she wanted to remember her high school days, and more importantly, her Natsuki. She felt like she was betraying Natsuki by having new friends and not thinking about her every minute of every day. Shizuru was actually really scared. She felt that she was forgetting her Natsuki slowly day by day. She couldn't remember what she smelt like, what it felt like to hold her into her arms, and even the picture in her head of Natsuki blushing was fading and losing its color.

She knew that Natsuki would be graduating and planning on attending the ceremony, but she had no intention at all meet the said girl. She knew that she wouldn't want to go home and leave her precious Natsuki again if she did; she just wanted to see her, and hopefully, that would be enough.

She wondered if she would ever get over her in time. 'It's been so long. This is it. This will be the last time I ever plan on seeing you Natsuki. I just want to see if you're ok.' Shizuru couldn't take her heartbreak anymore. 'You'll be fine without me, you've probably moved on already. I just have to move on as well.'

_

* * *

Yesterday._

Shizuru made it to the Kyoto station at 4:30 and waited to board. She got on the train before Chihiro showed up. It was five minutes till departure when she showed it huffing and puffing, "I over slept…'_puff_' how come you chose such an early train?" She continued puffing while glaring to her left.

Shizuru simply smiled, "You didn't have to come."

"Ok, '_puff_' I get it already, '_huff_' just let me just '_huff_' catch my breath."

Shortly after, the train took off. Shizuru was sitting next to the window and Chihiro took the seat to the right of her and there was an empty chair to Chihiro's right. It was a two and a half hour ride and she was really tired. She couldn't sleep last night because her couldn't get her heart to stop pounding in her chest.

Shizuru closed her eyes and started drifting away when she felt a small weight on her shoulder. When she opened her eyes, she found Chihiro resting on her shoulder while slightly snoring. 'Wow, she's definitely not a morning person' she thought to herself before closing her eyes and resting her head on top of the other girl's.

Chihiro also couldn't sleep the night before. It wasn't so much that her mind was busy, it was just that she was too busy packing. She was a very last minute person and didn't start packing until 2 in the morning and finished around 3. That left her with about an hour of sleep.

Shizuru didn't sleep on the train; she figured she could take a short nap after she got to the hotel. She woke her friend up as they pulled into the Tokyo station. Shizuru gently touched the side of Chihiro's face in attempts to wake her up when a flashback entered her mind. Images of the Carnival flashed through her mind, even if it were only a second or two, it scared her.

'What's wrong with me… I didn't come here to remember the bad things…' She thought to herself. She had to wake her still sleeping friend and didn't want to touch her in fear what memories would come up so she just shook her shoulders and called out her name.

"Natsuki, we're here."

Slowly waking up, Chihiro replied with a "Huh?" Rubbing her eyes, "What did you say?"

'What's going on? What _did_ I just say?' "Nothing, sorry, we're here." 'I must be more tired than I thought.' She said to herself. "Let's go"

They grabbed their luggage and exited the train and went straight to the hotel. It was almost 8 when they got to their room. The room was a small suite so there was a kitchen and a bathroom that were each separated from the bedroom which contained two full sized beds. After stepping into the room, Chihiro's stomach was the first to speak. With a blush, Chihiro held her stomach and spoke louder than the growls.

"I haven't eaten yet, I think I'm going to go down to the lobby and grab something from the convenience store. Would you like anything?"

"Just a bottle of tea would be nice, thank you." Shizuru said, putting her luggage down on the side.

"Alright, I'll be back in a bit," Chihiro said while dashing out the door.

"Ara, so much energy for someone who is so hungry," Shizuru said to no one, "I think I'll rest my eyes for a bit."

The instant that Shizuru lied down, she fell asleep. Within 10 minutes, Chihiro was back. "Shizuru, I grabbed you a green tea and an onigiri, is that alright?" She called into the room and got no answer. "Shizuru?"

After stepping further into the room she couldn't find Shizuru, and after looking into the bedroom she noticed the brown haired beauty sleeping on top of the covers. "Wow, you must've been really tired."

Chihiro put the food down in the kitchen and pulled the covers over the sleeping Shizuru. After doing so, she patted the sheets and brushed her bangs out of her face. 'She even has a serious face when she sleeps.'

She stroked her check and looked down longingly at her. Her thumb ran over her lips, and before she knew it, her face was inching closer to hers. Chihiro closed the gap between her and the sleeping girl and after a small lingering kiss, she pulled away. The kiss was a small and gentle, but when the realization of what she just did hit her, she quickly backed away with a dark red face and her hand over her lips. She then ran to the bathroom in attempts to calm herself down.

While Chihiro was in the bathroom, Shizuru jolted up. Panting hard, she sat up and put her hand over her rapidly beating heart. Beads of sweat formed on the temples of her head and she rest her other hand over her forehead. Chihiro heard the noise and hurried quickly back into the room.

Her face still slightly flushed, she asked, "What's wrong? What happened?" hoping that it wasn't her actions that woke her up.

"Nothing, nothing at all. It was just a nightmare." She said while her breath was slowing returning back to normal.

Chihiro, relieved that she wasn't found out and that Shizuru was too distressed herself to notice her own blush, walked back to the bed and sat next to Shizuru. While gently rubbing Shizuru's back, she asked, "Are you ok? Do you want to talk about it?"

Now back to normal, Shizuru relaxed at her touch, "No, its fine. Thank you."

'It's always "fine" isn't it Shizuru? When will you ever lean on me for support?' Chihiro asked to herself. She then leaned forward and rested her chin on top of one of Shizuru's shoulders and wrapped her arms around her in a hug.

Shizuru sighed and leaned back into the hug. It was nice to receive hugs and other comforting gestures from time to time, but Shizuru never thought it was anything more than a friend helping a friend.

Shizuru then got up without saying a word and walked over to the kitchen and left Chihiro sitting on her bed by herself. Shizuru grabbed her tea and uncharacteristically took a huge gulp before muttering to herself, "What the hell was that??"

Shizuru was woken from her slumber by another flashback. This one played vividly through her mind; it was a memory that she could never forget. She remembered it like it was yesterday, but it was over two years ago now.

In her dream, she recalled the day where she found Natsuki sleeping on the patio during the Carnival. She must have been exhausted to fall asleep outside, but while she was in that vulnerable state, Shizuru couldn't help but lean in to steal a kiss. It was Hakura's piercing scream that woke Shizuru from that horrible nightmare and brought her back to reality.

"What going on?" She questioned herself out loud while taking another gulp of tea, 'Is just being back here in Tokyo that brings back all these memories?' she asked inwardly.

Little did she know that the main trigger of these flashbacks was the girl that was sitting in the other room.

**

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A/N: **WOOT! 終わった。 I can't believe I wrote another chapter. Ok, don't expect me to write one everyday, but I'll try. This chapter was slightly longer so I hope you'll enjoy it. Sorry that there's not ShizNat stuff happening, but I hopefully they'll be reunited soon. Also, sorry if there are a lot of mistakes, after I write these, I don't really feel like rereading them. Comments, suggestions, reviews, and flames are all welcome. They inspire me to write so please just leave any remarks!!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **I must apologize for another short chapter. Actually I didn't want to write at all today because I was so tired, but after I got home and read all your encouraging comments I didn't want to disappoint!! Well, lets get it started in here.

* * *

Shizuru stayed at the hotel all day just relaxing and not wanting to go out into the busy city. Compared to Kyoto, everyone was always in a rush and she didn't want to get caught up in it. She was too tired physically and mentally. Luckily, Chihiro left for the day so Shizuru could clear her head without being distracted. She had a long day tomorrow and she was looking forward to it.

The next day, Shizuru sat in the audience in the middle on the left hand side while she watched her old 'friends' walk down to go to their seats on the stage for their graduation. She spotted Natsuki sitting in the middle row at the end. Shizuru admired her long, sleek hair that was party covered by her cap. Every time the wind blew, it would dance a little and return to stillness. Her hair was several inches longer than it was a few years ago, but that wasn't the only physical changes. Her beautiful emerald eyes that used to sparkle with such youth and energy now carried a huge weight on them. They no longer showed the curiosity and playfulness they used to, but they now seemed sad and like they've aged and had seen the whole world over. It was easy to believe the last fact because Shizuru was sure that if she bothered looking at anyone else, every single other HiME's eyes would carry that same glint.

Natsuki's face still had her 'mess with me, you die' tough-girl look, but to Shizuru, it still seemed cute and she was glad she hadn't changed completely. Shizuru sat through the ceremony and never took her eyes off of Natsuki, not even once. She was afraid that Natsuki would notice her, but as everyone was getting his or her diplomas, she waited until Natsuki received hers, and then got up and left, not once turning back. As Natsuki graduated from high school, it was like she graduated from Shizuru. Natsuki was moving on to new and better things now.

Shizuru wasn't quite ready to leave her old school yet. It was a little after noon and she walked around campus. The first place she visited was of course, the garden. Their garden. The flowers were still in bloom and pedals fluttered in the wind. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She couldn't stand being there without Natsuki, so she left.

Continuing around campus, she walked past the dorms and neared the classrooms. As she walked through the crystal dome where the many ribbons where tied, she chuckled while remembering the whole panty-eating orphan ordeal. Shizuru's feet naturally took her back to the empty student council room. As she opened the door, she half expected Natsuki to be waiting there, using her computer, but of course, she wasn't.

Running her fingers along her old desk, she then sat down in an all too familiar chair. This was the room where many memories were made. The first ones that came to her head was none other than memories of Natsuki. She remembered good times of laughing, talking, hugging, and just times of awkward silence. She loved walking into the room to find Natsuki sleeping, and in that moment, Shizuru herself started drifting to sleep.

Half an hour later, Shizuru was awakened from her daydreams. "K-Kaichou-san?"

"Ara, Kikukawa-san, congratulations on graduating," Shizuru said while getting up, "Please excuse me."

As Shizuru was walking out of the room, Yukino continued talking, "Won't you stay? Everyone will be here shortly." And without a word, Shizuru closed the door behind her.

Shizuru had one more thing to do before she left the school and after that small task was completed, she left. The memories where choking her so badly, tears started falling down her face. She didn't want to be seen, especially like this. She wandered into a nearby coffee shop and ordered a hot cup of tea. After receiving her order, she walked to the second floor and took a seat in the corner next to the window where she could look out.

* * *

Natsuki came into the student council room an hour later. She grew distant from these people, but knowing that this would probably be the last time she'd see any of them, she decided to stop by. As she walked in late, all eyes where on her when she sat down.

"Kuga-san," Yukino spoke up. Natsuki looked at her in acknowledgement and the shy girl continued, "Kaichou-san was here earlier, did you happen to meet her?"

With these words, Yukino got Natsuki's full attention. "When?" Natsuki asked bolting up in excitement.

"She was in here about an hour ago, but she left without saying much…"

Natsuki ran out without even thinking. Nothing was on her mind but to find Shizuru. She wanted to see her so bad. She needed to see her at least one more time. Before she thought a single thought, her agile feet brought her to their garden. Peddles floated gently when she eagerly looked around. Not a soul was in sight.

Franticly searching while running around, tears unconsciously ran down her face while her hair whipped through the air. 'It was her! I can't believe that was actually her! I should've went after her when I had the chance!' she chided herself. She ran through the school. She couldn't think of anywhere else Shizuru could be besides the garden and the student council room, but that wasn't going to stop her from turning the school upside down. After a half an hour of running through school three times over, her tears started flowing freely down her face. Finally, she let out a loud scream of frustration and fell to her knees, giving up.

Natsuki picked herself up and slowly started walking towards the train station. She was in no mood to drive back to her apartment and decided to leave her motorcycle at school. Dragging her feet, she reached her train and within five minutes, it was there to pick her up. She got in and sat on the chair. School was seven stops away from her apartment so that's why she normally drove.

Watching the doors open and close, around the fifth stop, she noticed that familiar figure again. Just as graceful as she remembered, she saw Shizuru sliding across the platform, making her way towards the stairs. Before it processed in our poor Natsuki's mind what was going on, the doors started closing again. She tried to get up and dash out, but was stopped by the glass on the door. She missed her chance again.

Hitting her head against the window, she slid down into a sitting position on the ground. She gathered many stares, but ignored them and her heart was too busying breaking. Natsuki some how ended up back in her apartment. She didn't know how she got there, but as she set her things down on the floor, the orange glow of the setting sun filled the room.

'Shizuru doesn't love me.' She thought to herself. 'How could she come to our graduation and not even say a single word to me? She even talked to Kikukawa and not me!' Similar thoughts bombarded the graduate's mind as she cried and cried until she ran out of tears and fell asleep.

Back at school, hundreds of ribbons waved in the air. In the most beautiful calligraphy, the name Kuga Natsuki was written on one, while on the pole next to it the name Fujino Shizuru was scribbled hastily on another. Neither of them had faith in other's love for each other, but neither of them wanted to give up hope.

**

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A/N: **OK! Another chapter. That's one EVERYDAY!! I'll try update as much as possible, but that's becoming very difficult. Sorry for no ShizNat-ness again, but I promise the next chapter, they'll finally meet face to face. The more comments and reviews I get, the sooner I'll update! I promise!! PEACE OUT TOMODACHIS!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Yes!! One more chapter!! Woot woot!! Thank you everyone for all your reviews!! It's so hard NOT to update when you guys make me so happy with all your kind words!! Well, are you ready for your daily dosage of ShizNat-ness?? I actually wanted to make this story a 'Woe with me, fate is so cruel' story, but everyone seems to be too impatient and antsy without ShizNat (haha, I guess I would be too XD), so here it finally is!

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Shizuru tried to spend most of her day out, wanting to be alone. After wandering around the neighborhood, she ended up getting returning to the hotel around 2 a.m. and thankfully, Chihiro was already sleeping. After getting ready to go sleep, she got into bed, and fell asleep almost instantly. It was a very long day.

Getting up around 10, Shizuru was surprised to see Chihiro was still asleep. Shizuru got up and got ready. There was one more place she wanted to go before she headed back to Kyoto later that night. Chihiro finally woke up a quarter after 11, just as Shizuru was heading out.

"Where're you going?" Chihiro asked groggily while rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

Because of Chihiro's presence, Shizuru was surprised. "Good morning sleepy head. What time did you go sleep last night?"

"Around one. I tried to wait up for you, but I guess I fell asleep. Sorry… What time did you get home?"

"Oh, no problem. I'm sorry to have made you wait for me, but I got home around two. This morning I actually thought you were entered hibernation." Shizuru teasingly continued while grabbing her stuff and heading out once more.

"Hee hee, yeah, sleeping is one of my favorite past times. So where're are going?" Chihiro asked once more, "I was kinda hoping we could hang out a little today."

"Well, there are still things I wanted to take care of today, but hopefully in the evening we can have dinner or something." Shizuru felt bad that she hadn't made time for her friend, but there was one more place she wanted to go to that she wasn't able to go to yesterday.

"Ok, I understand, you did said that you'd be busy." Chihiro plopped back down on her bed covering her eyes with her arm in attempts to fall back asleep. "Just give me a call, I'll probably just hang around the hotel or something."

"Sounds great. I see you later." And with that, Shizuru went to one last place that held a lot of special memories, both good and bad.

* * *

Natsuki got out of bed around 11 and went to the bathroom to clean herself up. 'Man, I look like shit. It almost looks like I have a hangover.' She thought to herself and started brushing her teeth, 'I wish it was just a hangover… Anything is probably less painful that what I'm feeling right now.' Natsuki finished and washed her face then changed her clothes. She needed to get out of the house and fast. A nice long drive would do her good.

Natsuki drove around town for a bit, not knowing where else to go. She was getting tired of the stop-and-go traffic, so she headed outwards. As she thought of places to go, she finally decided on going to the cliff where she last saw her mother. At least there, she would be able to clear her head.

As she drove up towards the cliff, she noticed something different. At the deserted cliff, far from the outskirts of town, there was a solitary person. As she drew closer and closer, her heart pounded harder and harder, almost to the point where she was going to crash. She drove faster in attempts to get there sooner, and halted suddenly by pressing the breaks hard. With a loud screech, the person standing there turned around and it was exactly who Natsuki was hoping it to it be, it was Shizuru.

Nastuki got off her bike and quickly took off her helmet. She wanted to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. Neither of them said a word, not knowing what to say or do. Shizuru was clearly surprised by the look on her face, but no one could've been more surprised than Natsuki. To verify that she was actually there, Natsuki slowly reached her hand out and grabbed Shizuru's arm. Startled, Shizuru let out a gasp and before she knew it, she was being pulled into a hug. As fate would have it, they were finally reunited.

Shizuru stood there in her arms, stiff as a board. She couldn't move, her brain was thinking too many other things at the moment, but when Natsuki quietly whispered her name in the ear, he knees buckled. She would've fallen to the ground if it weren't for Natsuki holding her, but then her mind finally caught up to her. After she stood up straight, she finally and gently returned the hug.

"Hi Natsuki, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Shizuru started, "By the way, congratulations. I'm so proud of you. I knew you could do it." With that, she pulled out of the hug and continued, "You were always so smart. With a 3.95 GPA, I'm sure you could go almost anywhere."

"Where were you?" Natsuki asked, completely ignoring Shizuru's praise and pulled her back in a hug.

Surprised, Shizuru answered the question. "I was sitting in the back— "

"No!" Natsuki rudely cut her off. Her hug got tighter and it started to hurt Shizuru. "WHERE WERE YOU?" She didn't have time to play her little games, "WHERE THE _HELL_ HAVE YOU BEEN FOR THE LAST _TWO_ YEARS??"

Natsuki slid down to her knees while still hugging Shizuru. Shizuru just stood there in complete shock while Natsuki hugged her legs, crying. "I needed you!" Natsuki continued, calming down a little. "I needed you and I trusted you to be my friend and yet you left me!"

Natsuki's tears started hitting Shizuru's shoes and soaking her jeans. Every word Natsuki said hurt Shizuru deeply, it felt like she was repeatedly jabbing a knife into her heart. After a few moments, Shizuru lightly placed her right hand on top of Natsuki's head and apologized. "I know, I know… I'm sorry Natsuki, it was just too hard," she said and patted her head twice, "It was just too hard…"

After a few moments, Shizuru kneeled down to Natsuki's level and lifted her face. When Natsuki finally looked Shizuru in the eyes, she could see her emerald eyes surrounded by red. She had never seen this sight before and it broke her heart that she was the one that had put her in this state. Shizuru used her thumbs and carefully wiped Natsuki's tears away while tears started forming in her own. "Forgive me Natsuki, I'm so sorry…" she said and closed her eyes and rested her forehead on hers. As she was getting up to leave, she lightly kissed Natsuki's forehead. Her tears were heavily falling now as got up and started walking away.

Nastuki continued to sit there, unable to stop her tears, unable to stop Shizuru. Shizuru was several yards away when Natsuki finally spoke again. "You're doing it again! You're leaving me again! Aren't you?"

With these words, Shizuru was stopped in her tracks, but didn't turn around. She could tell by Natsuki's voice that her back was still facing her as well. Natsuki continued, "Don't… Please don't leave me, not again."

"I'm sorry Nat—" Shizuru started before she was cut off.

"Don't tell me you're sorry! Tell me you'll stay!"

"Natsuki, I'm not going to lie to you."

"But you're also not going to stay for me..."

"Natsuki… I wish I could… But I have other things to worry about as well."

"What's so important that'll stop you from doing things that you 'wish you could' do?"

"STOP! Just stop it already… Please, stop making this harder than it already is! It's hard for me too, you know!" Shizuru finally broke.

"If it's hard for you too then just stay here with me!"

"Don't be so selfish Natsuki! I have a life too! I can't just drop everything for you. This is not high school anymore. I refuse…"

With that, Natsuki stopped arguing. She hadn't realized it before how much Shizuru had actually done for her. The sacrifices she made and how easily she took advantage of her. It was quiet for a moment before she started again, "Then, just for today… Please just stay with me just for today…"

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A/N: **Ok, still short, but I don't think I can write long chapters. I at least write 1,000 words per chapter, so please bare with it. At least the updates come often right?? I hope you liked this chapter. Sorry Natsuki is always so emo. I don't know how that happened. Read and review onegaishimasu!! Ookini


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **More ShizNat-ness for you guys. It's a long chapter so I hope you enjoy. Again, many thanks for reviews! I love them, so please keep them coming!

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Natsuki knew that she was being selfish and didn't know whether or not Shizuru would comply with her request. Natsuki continued sitting there pathetically on the floor waiting for an answer losing hope with the passing of every second. The silence was intense, but was broken suddenly by the ringing of a phone.

Shizuru just stood there letting her phone ring. She was too distracted to notice it, but after the fifth ring or so, she finally opened her phone and let out a weak "Hello."

"Shizuru?" Chihiro asked confused. She looked at her phone's screen to make sure she called the right number. After confirming it was her, she continued, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." When Shizuru said this, Natsuki's heart dropped a little. Was she really fine? Natsuki was far from it. "I'm a little busy right now, was there something that you needed?" Shizuru turned around to look at the girl that was on her mind, just to find Natsuki also looking over her shoulder at Shizuru curiously.

"Oh, yeah!" Chihiro replied as if she totally forgot the reason why she called, "I was wondering around what time you were going to be done. I was going to try making reservations for dinner."

Shizuru paused for a moment. She had forgotten about meeting Chihiro. Just like in high school, when it came to Natsuki, nothing else was ever on her mind. Meanwhile, Natsuki, being able to only hear one side of the conversation, was growing extremely nervous. Her neck was getting sore from craning over to look at Shizuru, so she turned around and sat on her butt. 'What are they talking about? It seems important… Shizuru's always so busy; I should've known that she'd be too busy to waste her day on me.' She sighed, admitting defeat. Natsuki, like Chihiro, was easy to read. Shizuru could tell that Natsuki was hurt and knew that she couldn't stay with her.

"Shizuru? Are you there?" Chihiro asked after there was no answer.

"I'm sorry Chihiro, something very important came up and I won't be able to make it tonight," Shizuru replied while seeing a bright smile light up on Natsuki's face.

"Oh, ok… I understand. I guess I'll see you before the board the train then."

"Yes, that sounds good. I'm sorry again. Bye." Shizuru said before she hung up.

After the phone conversation, Natsuki got up to her feet, walked up to Shizuru and gave her a hug. "Thank you." She whispered while burying her face in her neck.

Shizuru's hands, still at her side, dropped the phone. Right now, she didn't care about anything but the moment. She slowly wrapped her arms around Natsuki's body and spoke into her ear. "Just for today, I will stay with you."

After their hug, they broke apart. Natsuki handed Shizuru her helmet and got on the motorcycle. Shizuru placed on the helmet and followed in suit. She was scared at first to wrap her arms around Natsuki for it had been far too long since they were last like this. As her arms were slowing encircling her stomach, Natsuki gently grabbed her arms and wrapped them tightly around her. Not letting go, she spoke, "Just trust me Shizuru, I'm still the person I was when we last met."

These words did not put Shizuru to ease at all. 'That's what's making this so hard.' She thought to herself, 'I just wish you had become someone that I could hate.'

Natsuki took off which brought Shizuru back to reality and forced her to hold on tightly. Shizuru was so comfortable that she felt uncomfortable. She wanted to escape from Natsuki, but right now, it was making it really hard. Shizuru wanted the bike ride to end already, but to Natsuki it was so nostalgic, and she refused to end it. Water started to hit the mask of the helmet and Shizuru realized that Natsuki was crying again. Instinct took over, and Shizuru tightly hugged Natsuki and rested her head against her back.

Natsuki drove around town, literally. She didn't want for the ride to end, and she didn't know where to go, and eventually, they ended up somewhere in town.

"Where do you want to go? Did you eat lunch yet?" Natsuki said while Shizuru got off the bike.

"No I didn't, but I'm not that hungry. I'll do anything Natsuki wants to do."

"I know," Natsuki took a pause and sighed, before continuing and getting off the bike herself, "I know that you're doing this for me, but can you please, just _please_, act like you at least kind of want to be here a little bit?"

Shizuru looked at Natsuki, shocked at what she just said. She did feel a little obligated to be here, but she didn't mean it that way. "I'm sorry, I guess that came out wrong. I just meant that I just want to do whatever Natsuki wants to do."

Natsuki took the helmet from Shizuru and rested on the handlebars of the bike. She wore this incredibly cute expression on her face. It seemed to be a mix between a pout and a thinking face.

Shizuru let out a small chuckle, "I guess some things never change huh Natsuki," tapping her finger on Natsuki's nose, "You still make the cutest expressions." Natsuki pouted again and blushed slightly.

"Ara, you still have that adorable blush as well!" Shizuru added letting out a heartwarming laugh.

"Well, it seems that you haven't changed at all either!" Natsuki retorted. 'It's just your feelings for me that have changed, isn't it…' She thought to herself.

The two walked around town before ending up at a small coffee shop. Shizuru ordered a hot green tea while Natsuki got an iced coffee and paid for the bill. They grabbed a seat far from other people and sat in silence. While holding her ice coffee in one hand, Natsuki watched the steam rise out of Shizuru's cup. She noticed how well these drinks defined themselves. Shizuru's tea was warming an elegant. With Japanese green tea, brought old fashion beauty. The top of the cup was clear, but at the bottom there lied tealeaves and dark secrets. To get to them though, it was a lot of work. Natsuki's coffee however was cold and dark. After a while though, after the ice melts, it becomes warmer. It was something only time could do. Coffee was always really hard to see through and is bitter. It also had an acquired taste. Most people don't like it at first, but when you get used to it, it was hard to live without. Well at least for Shizuru that was the case. Natsuki then noticed how the two were so completely different and the taste of the two would never go together. Was that the case for them two as well?

Not wanting to continue down this train of thought, Natsuki broke the silence. "I'm sorry for making you come out here. I know you're busy."

"No, it's no problem, I wasn't busy. I do admit, it has been a long time."

"But you had to cancel your plans."

"Huh?" Shizuru had again forgotten about her previous engagement to meet Chihiro, "Oh, no, it's ok. It was just my friend, she'll understand."

Natsuki had actually sadistically hoped that Shizuru had to cancel something important and that she had chose to be with her instead. This statement actually hurt her. 'Of course she made new friends,' she thought. She was jealous, had she been the only one to not move on?

The silence returned. "You look good, I'm glad you've been taking such good care of yourself." This time it was Shizuru to break the silence.

"You do too," Natsuki replied. There was no blush because she wasn't really thinking about the conversation, just her feelings.

Neither of the girls was hungry, so they just grabbed a scone from the coffee shop and shared it. They continued to have small talk and it was kind of awkward, but they didn't want it to end. Shizuru asked Natsuki a lot of questions about her life, while Shizuru expertly dodged Natsuki's questions. Just like how Shizuru didn't talk about her old life to Chihiro, she didn't talk about her new life to Natsuki. She wanted to keep them separate and break them apart as much as she could.

It was a little before 6 by the time they left the coffee shop and Natsuki decided to take Shizuru somewhere. She ended up bringing her to school to stop by the garden. After they got there, Shizuru hopped off the bike and started walking forward without waiting for Natsuki to follow.

Natsuki stood there looking at Shizuru in the garden. The sun was setting and it looked like Shizuru was walking away from her and into her future. After staring dumbly at her for a few moments, Natsuki ran to catch up to her. On the verge of tears, Natsuki asked, "Where are you going? Don't leave me behind…"

Shizuru turned her back towards the sun and faced Natsuki completely. She apologized "I'm sorry, I was just entering the garden, I didn't think you'd mind."

Shizuru answered her question, but Natsuki didn't mean where was she going right now, but in general. She didn't want to be left behind, not now, not ever. When Natsuki caught up to her, she softly grabbed the hem of Shizuru's shirt while looking down at the ground. "Wait for me…"

"Of course," she said while ruffling Natsuki's hair. "Let's go sit over there on that bench." Shizuru started walking slowly while Natsuki continued holding on to her shirt. Shizuru looked back at her before grabbing her hand to make her let go, and just held her hand gently in her own.

Natsuki's hand was ridged at first, but she relaxed and let out a small laugh. It was funny because she never realized that Shizuru was just as nervous, if not more. Shizuru's hand was slightly sweaty despite the confidence she displayed in her actions. Hoping to relieve Shizuru at least a little bit, she intertwined their fingers and gave her hand a slight squeeze and continued walked towards the bench.

Sitting side by side, they watched the sun set quietly. They still held each others hand and Natsuki started drifting to sleep. Shizuru hadn't noticed until she felt her head fall upon her shoulder and her hand loosen in grip. With a sad smile on her face, she stroked the sleeping girls face before it hit her that it was oddly familiar.

'Natsuki, we're here.' The scene replayed in her head. "Huh?" the response was loud and clear. She didn't notice that it was actually Natsuki who said that. After the weight of Natsuki's head was lifted off of her shoulder, she snapped back to reality. "I think we should go," Shizuru said. She didn't know whether she wanted to day to end as soon as possible, or to make it last forever, but sadly, the second option was impossible.

"No, not yet." Natsuki begged, gripping her hand harder, "It's not even late yet."

"Look at you, you're falling asleep."

Natsuki yawned while replying, "No I'm not! I'm just a little tired… I don't want you to leave yet."

"You should go home already, I should go home as well…"

"No, just a little while more." She pleaded while standing up now.

"We had a long day, lets just go home." Shizuru was trying to be the responsible one here.

"Come home with me…" Natsuki finally asked, a small blush lighting up.

"Ara, what does Nastuki know what she's asking me?" Shizuru tried to tease her way out of this.

"Yes." She answered confidently.

It was Shizuru's turn to blush, "I'll see you home, but then I have to leave right after."

Taking what she could, Natsuki offered her hand to help Shizuru stand up and headed towards the bike.

After a 15-minute bike ride, they arrived at Natsuki's place. Not a single word was said and Natsuki opened the door to her place.

"Sorry, it's kind of messy," Natsuki finally spoke up while taking off her shoes. Shizuru was taking off her shoes while looking around. It wasn't messy really, sure there were books and papers scattered around everywhere, but it wasn't anything too bad. Shizuru was quite uncomfortable and just took a seat on the couch. She didn't know why she was here and she just looked around the room to keep herself occupied.

Natsuki finally walked up to Shizuru and kneeled down in front of her. She rested her arms on Shizuru's legs and her hands grabbed her hands that were folded neatly in her lap. She gripped her hands tightly as if that if she stopped, she would disappear forever.

Natsuki's grip was hurting Shizuru a little, but she didn't say anything because she loved this feeling. How long did she want Natsuki to want her this badly? How long did she want Natsuki to _need_ her by her side? As these thoughts rushed through her head, she slouched and tilted her head down a little. She closed her eyes and a lone tear dripped down on top of Natsuki's hands. Natsuki looked up at Shizuru in all her beauty and straightened up.

Shizuru still had her eyes closed when Natsuki let go of her hands. She missed the intimacy, but didn't utter a word. Seconds later, she felt Nastuki's hands on her shoulders as they forcefully pushed her back into the seat. Her eyes quickly opened as Natsuki's lips came crashing down on her own. She sat there dumbly as Natsuki continued to force self on her.

Tears where falling from her face as she whispered in between kisses, "Don't leave me, don't leave me again, please. I'm so sorry."

Shizuru couldn't control herself anymore as she slowly started kissing her back. She wrapped her arms around her neck and didn't say a word.

Natsuki finally stopped and rested her forehead on Shizuru's. Looking her straight in the eyes, she pleaded one more time, "Please, don't leave me…"

Not saying a word, Shizuru smiled sadly and wiped the tears from her eyes.

After that, they had nothing to say, the kiss was over as quickly as it started. They turned on the TV to try to mask the awkward tension between the two of them. Minutes later, Natsuki fell asleep with her head on Shizuru's lap. Shizuru just watched TV by herself until 10 and got up quietly. She gently lifted Natsuki's head and got out from under her. She placed a pillow to replace her lap, and draped a blanket over her sleeping body. She washed her face in the bathroom before writing a note to Natuski and quietly leaving the apartment.

Natsuki woke back up around 12 and looked around the room looking for Shizuru. Despite all her pleas and cries, Shizuru still left her again. A single note was placed on her coffee table that just said five simple words, "Thank you but I'm sorry."

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A/N: **HOLY CRAP! THIS CHAPTER WAS 2x AS LONG AS ANY OTHER!! I just wasted my WHOLE day writing this… I hope you guys like it. This is the first chapter I didn't start at 1 in the morning, so I had more time to write more. Reviews and feedback would be GREATLY appreciated! Time to start homework!!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Thank you guys _so_ much for all the reviews!! I was so surprised how many of you guys are actually reading this and enjoying it!! I'm sorry for the huge delay (unlike when I first started and wrote a chapter a day XD), I was quite busy with my finals. Well, here it is another chapter, I hope you like it.

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The ride back to Kyoto was a quiet one. Despite how tired Shizuru was from the hectic day she had earlier, she stayed awake the whole ride. The city lights passed by in the blink of an eye and before she knew it, they were pulling up into the station.

Chihiro noticed the change in Shizuru's demeanor and left her alone. They had a long trip and both just wanted to go home and rest peacefully. Luckily, school was almost out and they both only had two more finals, one Wednesday and one on Friday, so they didn't have to worry about going to school the next day and could sleep in.

Chihiro was too tired to head back to the dorms all the way back on campus so Shiruzu offered her to let her stay at her apartment for the night. She felt guilty for never seeing her on the trip and they were both so tired that neither of them would notice each other.

They got to Shizuru's apartment around three in the morning and both of them practically hit the ground when they stepped in. Chihiro took the couch in the living room while Shizuru slept in her bedroom. Entering the room, Shizuru closed the door behind her and walked towards her bed. As she got closer, a familiar picture came into view and without knowing, she picked it up and threw it into the corner of the room. With the shattering of the glass, Shizuru felt a little relief on her heart and fell asleep within seconds.

Chihiro woke up the next morning and left before Shizuru woke up. She knew the other girl was tired and she just wanted to get home. By the time Shizuru woke up it was a little before noon and she stumbled out of bed. She was still tired, but the heat and brightness of the sun refused to let her sleep anymore.

As she approached the door, she was stopped by a prick in the bottom of her foot. She looked down like she was going to kill whatever it was that stopped her. It turned out that it was a piece of shattered glass from the picture frame she threw the night before. She had actually forgotten that she thrown it and wasn't even sure why she even threw it in the first place. Was she sad? Hurt? Confused? Or was it that she was just mad because she couldn't understand what Natsuki was doing or feeling anymore?

As of now, Shizuru had known Natsuki for about five years. What Shizuru didn't understand was that as for the first three, she was madly and completely in love with her and now that she was finally getting over it, Natsuki threw her heart into chaos. After three years of close friendship, lingerie shopping, flushed faces, and evening drives, Shizuru was happy if she could receive a simple hug let alone what happened last night. The closest feeling that she had ever got from Natsuki that wasn't mere friendship was during the carnival, and even then, Shizuru didn't understand what Natsuki really felt. Sometimes it could be interpreted as even hate.

Shizuru was too tired to contemplate on it anymore and really didn't want to think about anything right now. She yanked the glass out from the bottom of her foot, ignoring the blood gushing out, and walked to the bathroom leaving a thick trail behind her. Her mind was in such disarray that she couldn't feel any pain and she jumped into the shower.

After a half an hour shower, her mind hadn't calmed down much when she decided to take out her shaminsen. It had been almost a year since she had last touched it. She sat down on the floor and gently picked it up and carefully tuned it. She started off slow and as she got reacquainted with the strings, she picked up in tempo. She didn't think a single thought while her fingers naturally moved up and down the neck of the shamisen. This certainly relieved a lot of stress as all her emotions and pent up anxiety came out in the music. Speed and volume both increased as the seconds passed until finally the bachi (the pick for the shaminsen) flew out of her hand.

She was breathing heavily and there were slight traces of sweat accumulating on her forehead. After catching her breath, she put the shamisen to the side and fell backwards, lying on the floor. She had felt so much better, and fell back asleep like that.

Natsuki wasn't able to fall back asleep the night before after finding out that Shizuru had left. As she lied in bed, staring at the ceiling in her bedroom, she thought of what she should do next. She didn't know whether or not Shizuru still even lived in Tokyo and couldn't think of anywhere to start looking for her. She knew that if Shizuru didn't want to be found, she probably wouldn't be.

At three in the morning, she jumped out of bed and started packing. She decided she would leave already. She just wanted to get away from here and go somewhere new. She was planning on going to school early.

Natsuki was registered to live in the dorms but she wanted to get an apartment as soon as possible. She didn't mind the fact that she had to have a roommate as much as she hated the thought of sharing a bathroom with 20 or so other girls.

School didn't start for another month and a half and the incoming freshmen had to move in a month before that. Returning students didn't have to move in until the week before school started, but the dorms were open to move into in a week and that's exactly what Natsuki was planning on doing.

Natsuki packed up as much as she could until she fell asleep in the middle of the floor at a little before seven. It seemed the only way that either of the two could fall asleep right now was from exhaustion.

**

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A/N: **Sorry this chapter was extremely short and nothing really happened. I've really tired but I wanted to apologize to you guys for making you wait, and also thank you guys so much for the many reviews. I don't think I'll be able to update anytime soon again, but because I left it off in such a boring place, I'll try to get one more out soon. If I feel like procrastinating again and fucking my self over in school, you'll see another chapter in a couple of days, if not, then sorry it might be Wednesday if I'm not too exhausted. After that, I'm going to Okinawa (wai! :D) and then I'm returning to the home of the brave. (yeah that shitty place… jk ) So I'm pretty sure there won't be an update for that whole week. Also, please leave suggestions for this story I don't know what to write about any more (as you might be able to see from this pathetic excuse of a chapter.) So TTFN!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Ok, I'm sorry for extremely long wait! Well, here you go!!

* * *

Sneak attack: in 3, 2, 1… POUNCE! Chihiro lunged onto the bed that Shizuru lay asleep in.

Shizuru awoke with a jolt. Sitting up in her bed, she looked at the clock. It was a quarter after 11 and was actually quite surprised to see Chihiro at her place. Ever since they came back, they would spend more time with each other. It was probably because Shizuru wanted to get away from her thoughts that constantly haunted her.

"Ara, if you wanted to get into my bed so badly, all you had to do was ask…" Of course Shizuru's first words of the day had to be a tease. Chihiro slowly got up and gave a small smile with a red tint. She would have been in a full-blown flush if she weren't so happy that Shizuru was back to her normal self.

It had been several weeks since they returned from Tokyo, and Chihiro knew that something had been bothering Shizuru ever since. At first, Shizuru seemed slightly more apathetic, and always wanted to be alone, but Chihiro wouldn't allow that. Shizuru was actually secretly grateful for her distraction and friendship.

"So what are you doing here so early?" Shizuru asked while suppressing a yawn.

"Early? It's almost noon, time to get up! Come on, lets go somewhere today. School is finally over! You like the summer don't you?"

"Do I? I'm not sure anymore…" Shizuru responded whilst burying her self under the blankets again. In her head, she heard Natsuki instead of summer. (In Japanese… In English they don't sound anything alike… haha)

"Ok ok, get up get up! Lets go for a walk." Chihiro whined while shaking the hiding Shizuru.

Shizuru sat up from under the covers, "Chihiro, Don't you have to meet your roommate today?"

"Holy crap!" and with that, Chihiro ran out.

Shizuru chucked to herself while getting up to close the door Chihiro just left out of. It felt nice to have some comedy in her drama filled life.

* * *

Natsuki opened the door to her new place and dropped all her stuff down. She had planned to get here sooner, but she had to clear out all her old stuff from her apartment and find a replacement tenant. She looked around her new place and noticed it was empty and walked into her room to start unpacking. In the midst of doing so, someone barged in scaring the crap out of her.

"Omg, I'm so sorry I wasn't here. I totally forgot that you were coming today and I was just at my friend Shizuru's place when she reminded me…" Chihiro started without taking a single breath.

At first, Natsuki was amazed that someone could talk so fast without stumbling on their words, but that train of thought quickly ended with the name 'Shizuru'. Was this the same Shizuru that she knew? Had she come here after graduating? Is that why no one had heard from her?

Again, her thoughts were cut when there was a hand out in front of her, "Uh... My name's Chihiro, nice to meet you" a warm voice greeted her. She was a little out of breath from her long explanation, but she had finally calmed down.

'Chihiro… Chihiro… where have I heard that name before?' Natsuki thought to herself while slowly reaching out to shake the overly hyperactive girl's hand. _'I'm sorry Chihiro, something very important came up and I won't be able to make it tonight_.' That's right! That was the name of Shizuru's friend. Shizuru is in Kyoto? Natsuki shook Chihiro's hand without saying anything, deep in her thoughts. Who is this girl? What is she to Shizuru? They traveled together all the way to Tokyo, could she be my replacement?

She was brought back to reality when Chihiro spoke again, "Uhh, well my friend and I were planning on going out to do something, do you wanna come?"

"Shizuru?" Natsuki asked.

"Yeah, you know her?"

"No… I don't think so, but you just mentioned her. Who is she?"

"Uhh… She's one of my good friends. You should really meet her. She's really nice but a bit reserved, and I swear to god, it seems like everyone likes her."

"I'd bet…" Natsuki mumbled to herself, then thumbed towards the her room, "Nah, no thanks, not today, I think I should just unpack." She added before turning around and closing the door.

"Uhh… yeah, I guess I'll catch you later then…"

"Sure thing!" Natsuki yelled from the other side of the door while Chihiro left the dorms again.

* * *

Chihiro arrived back at Shizuru's place half past 12. They ate a small lunch and headed towards a nearby park.

"So how's your new roommate?" Shizuru asked while sitting down under a large tree. The park was fairly crowded and the two of them watched the children playing tag and flying kites. You could see parents sitting down on the benches talking and their pet dogs sniffing around looking for dropped food from the picnics.

"I don't really know. She didn't say more than five words to me." Chihiro added while taking a seat next to Shizuru.

"I see… What's her name?"

"Actually, I don't know. She never gave it."

"Wow, mysterious…" Shizuru giggled while leaning back against the tree.

"Nah, but she is kinda quiet I guess. A little rude though."

"Oh, tough. If you ever need a place to get away, you are more than welcome at my place."

"Thanks," she whispered while leaning back onto the tree then resting her head on Shizuru's shoulder. With a yawn, she added, "I'll hold you to that."

Quietly walking by, Natsuki spotted the two. She was frozen for a moment, looking at the two in front of her while they drifted in and out of sleep.

Turning back on her heels, Natsuki had never hated herself so much for making the decision to go to the park.

After returning to the dorm, Natsuki quickly kicked off her shoes before making her way to her room. She grabbed her cup from her suitcase and a bottle of medicine before walking back towards the kitchen.

She filled her glass up, took a large gulp before filling it up again. She opened her bottle and took out three aspirins and chugged those down as well. She let out her breath before looking at the cup in her hand. It was her favorite and she had received as a random gift. It was from Shizuru. It was actually a teacup that Shizuru had given her because she always disliked drinking tea alone, so in hopes of guilting Natsuki to drink with her, she had bought her a cup. It had worked, but Natsuki would only drink a cup or two unlike Shizuru who could only enjoy it if she had at least five cups in a sitting.

Natsuki sighed once more looking at the cup before placing it face down in the sink. She dragged herself back into her room and slammed the door shut behind her. After falling onto her bed, she thought to herself 'I think I hate my new roommate, and I think I'm in love with her best friend' before passing out.

**

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A/N: **Well, I hope you liked it. Sorry that its kinda short and if you were disappointed! T.T I plan on updating again soon when I have the time. Now that school is over, I should be able to write more! Again, sorry for the wait and please R&R! Love you guys :3


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait! Thank you all for the reviews. They make me soo happy!! :3 Here's the next chapter

* * *

Natsuki started the new day with a hot shower. She normally enjoyed taking her showers at night, but she felt it would be a nice waker-upper. After getting out, she changed into a pair of comfortable jeans and her traditional white hoodie. It was early summer, yet thankfully, the weather was still on the colder side. She brushed her teeth and hair and walked out with her towel on her shoulders to keep her dry clothes dry from her hair.

On a cold day like this, a pot of nice hot tea was just the perfect thing. After she started boiling the water, she washed her cup and popped a piece of bread into the toaster. Today already seemed to starting off bad with the realization that she had no mayonnaise. She had run out on the plane ride to Kyoto and had not had the time to purchase a new bottle. She settled for the next best thing, butter. While holding the toast in her mouth she poured herself a hot cup of tea before sitting at the table. She enjoyed quiet mornings but didn't get to enjoy them much because she usually slept in.

After finishing her small "breakfast," Natsuki idly looked out the nearby window, dazing off while her hands unconsciously played with her cup. She enjoyed the feeling of the rough texture and the odd shape. Natsuki could often waste hours sitting like this. The smell of rain filled the air while she could see the grey clouds outside gathering.

"Morning" Chihiro lazily greeted her new roommate, breaking out of her daze.

"Oh, morning." Natsuki replied. Chihiro took the seat opposite of Natsuki and put her head down on the table. It has been several days since the two started living together, but they have yet to have a decent conversation. Neither of them was ever home and they didn't know what to talk about.

Chihiro felt bad for Natsuki. For the short time that they've been living together, she never seemed to be happy and she hoped it wasn't because of her. She didn't want to bother her because she always seemed to be in her own world, but she wanted to help her at least settle in. Life is so much easier when you have at least one person you can rely on. Closing her eyes, laying her head down on the tabletop, Natsuki had thought that Chihiro had fallen back asleep until she spoke up.

"How about we order some pizza tonight?"

Natsuki honestly didn't want to, she'd much rather that be bothered by friends, schedules or plans, but if she had to live with this girl, she might as well get along with her. Even if she had stolen the heart of her 'important person.'

"Uhh… Sure, I was going to go around town, but I'll probably be back around 7:30." Natsuki agreed. She stood up taking her cup to the sink and discarding her napkin in the rubbish can. "I'm planning on stopping by the grocery store, do you need anything?" Natsuki said before heading off to start her day.

"No thanks. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not much of a cook. I usually just eat out or make instant meals. I make one hellva instant mac though!"

With a small sympathy laugh, Natsuki left the room.

* * *

Shizuru stopped by Chihiro's place with lunch in tow. They planned on eating lunch before Shizuru had to meet her family for dinner. Chihiro had hoped Shizuru could meet her new roommate, but she had left for the day. It couldn't be helped.

Shizuru had fried some fish while Chihiro made the rice and got out the drinks. The TV was on with the two girls enjoyed their meal. Chihiro watched the Olympics, but not one to enjoy sports, Shizuru just sat and ate quietly.

The rain started to fall and with it, the temperature dropped several degrees. Shizuru decided to borrow a jacket from Chihiro, and while she was retrieving it from the bedroom, Shizuru washed the dishes. It was an absent-minded chore and she didn't mind at all. She paid no attention until she reached the bottom of the pile, coming across a familiar cup. It was the same design and identical to if not the exact cup that she had given Natsuki in high school. How many times had she washed this cup before? As Shizuru wondered where Chihiro got this cup, large black hoodie came crashing down on her head.

The hoodie stayed seated on her head as she finished washing the rest of the dishes and dried her hands. She joined Chihiro in front of the TV before finally putting it on.

"So, did you ask your roommate her name yet?" Shizuru asked during a commercial break. It was still pretty cold so she put on the hood. It seemed so out of character with all of her elegance and grace that she's sitting on the floor in front of the TV wearing an oversized jacket and a hood. Chihiro had found it quiet cute actually.

"No, unfortunately not. And it's too late now. I can't just go up to her and go 'Hi, I know we've been living in the same apartment for almost a week now, but I don't know your name, can you please tell me it so I won't have to refer to you as "Hey, you" any more' now can I?" Chihiro laughed as she joined Shizuru on the floor lying down and propped her legs on the couch.

"Hey, you know, this is kind of random but, don't you think it would be great to fall in love with your best friend?" Chihiro asked shyly with a small tint of pink in her cheeks breaking the silence.

"Why would you say that?" Shizuru asked; this was a very uneasy topic for her. She lifted her head, yet the hood of the jacket still mostly covered her face.

"Don't you think it would be so easy? You would already have so much in common. You would have the same hobbies, same interests, same friends. You're already comfortable around each other and you know you'd get along with them…"

"Ara, Chihiro, had you fallen in love?" Shizuru asked. This painful topic needed to be changed.

"Of… Of course not… I was just saying…" A full-faced blush adorned her face now and lucky Shizuru wasn't looking towards her. "Well, anyways, what do you think?"

"No."

"Huh? No what?" Slightly confused, Chihiro tried to look at Shizuru but was restricted by the hood.

"No. I don't think it would be a great thing at all."

Chihiro's heart sunk, "why not?" She asked.

"Just because you are best friends, it doesn't mean that you like the same things, have the same hobbies or even harbor the same feelings. Wearing a mask at all times, pretending to just be their friend, having to dance between the line of friendship and love, smiling when you're not happy to make sure they won't worry, hugging them and knowing it's nothing more than friendship. That doesn't not appeal to me at all. I personally think that being in love with your best friend would put you in the worst possible position.

"Oh, I see… I doesn't have to be that way, what if it was a mutual love?"

"Are you willing to take that risk? The risk of losing everything in hopes to have a little more than what you already have?" Shizuru spat these words. Chihiro could not understand why Shizuru was getting so worked up about this but couldn't bring herself to end the conversation. Would she really not accept her feelings? Did Shizuru already know how she felt about her? Maybe this was her way of telling her to back off and leave her alone.

They both continued in silence before Shizuru slowly picked herself up. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier, Chihiro. Please, just ignore it. That was very rude of me."

Shizuru stood up and dusted her clothes off, "Its about time I be heading off. I'll see you later." She walked out the door, shutting it behind her, not looking back.

**

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A/N:** OK. So it was short again. I know… I'm sorry. I'm actually getting really nervous because you guys are leaving such wonderful reviews and I'm soo scared to disappoint!! I hope you still like the story. This was actually the first chapter that I didn't write all in one sitting, so I hope it doesn't seem strange to you. I was actually going to make this chapter longer, but I'm really tired and I reached the 1,000-word quota I set for each chapter. I should be updating soon though. I usually stop when I don't know what I'm going to write, but I have some idea so it SHOULDN"T be more than two days if I can find the time! Please stay with me my loyal readers and reviewers! I beg of you m(. .)m thanks! Oh yeah, sorry if Chihiro is getting kinda annoying as well. I'm trying not to make her like that, but to make the story progress, it has to be done! haha ok ok. R&R please!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Here you go! Fast right?? As always, thanks for the reviews. There were so many in one day, I just had to update! :3

* * *

Shizuru stepped outside the dorms and stood there for a while. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Recently, she had been a lot more stressed than she had ever been for a while. Not even finals were this wearing. Lost in thought, she looked out at the falling rain. It was raining quite violently, and yet, it was still very soothing.

Shizuru threw the hood back on and walked out into the rain, slowly walking wherever her feet took her. Drenched from head to toe, she was stopped in her tracks as an almost too familiar face ran past her.

* * *

After going around a bit, Natsuki decided to just go to the supermarket, buy her mayonnaise and cut her day short due to the rain. She took one of the store's umbrellas while making her way out and jogged back to her dorm. Focused on getting her daily dosage of mayo, she turned the corner while, unbeknownst to her, stunningly beautiful red eyes followed.

Shizuru had a lot on her mind and had no idea what was going on anymore. Hallucinations were haunting her everywhere she looked and she just wanted to get home, take a hot bath and drink as much tea as she could. She threw the borrowed jacket into the dryer and started running the water for her bath before calling her mother to tell her that she could not make it for dinner because she wasn't feeling well. After all that was done, she stripped the rest of her wet clothes and entered the tub where her muscles instantly relaxed. With a sigh, she started to calm her mind.

* * *

Nastuki made it to her dorm room just as Chihiro was exiting the shower. Chihiro didn't seem like she was in a good mood, it was a good thing that Nastuki had just bought a lot of mayo. Mayo made everyone's day better. Before Nastuki got in the shower, the two decided to order a large pizza and a side order of Buffalo wings, which were to be delivered in 40 minutes.

By the time Nastuki got out of the shower, it was about 10 minutes until the pizza came.

"Hey, do you want to drink tonight?" Chihiro asked.

"No… I don't drink. Is there something wrong? You seem a little out of it." Natsuki replied.

"Oh, no. Not really. Am I really that bad?"

"Honestly, yeah. What happened?"

"Nothing really. Nothing that can be helped."

"If you say so. Here," Nastuki threw a bottle of mayo at her, "you can have that. It always makes me feel better. Tastes good on pizza, I swear." By giving Chihiro that bottle, Natsuki only had four bottles left, but it looked like she needed it more than her.

"Thanks…" Chihiro accepted the gift thankfully, yet confused.

Natsuki walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. "Hey, do you want anything _non-_alcoholic to drink?" She called over to the other room.

"Haha, I guess I have to settle for water then. Thanks." Chihiro called back. While Natsuki was in the kitchen, the pizza man came and delivered the food. Chihiro paid for it and brought it back to the table and opened the cover. Natsuki came over in a few seconds with their water and her bottle in mayo under her arm.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Lets dig in." Nastuki said while placing the cups on the table.

Throughout the course of the meal, Natsuki limited herself to using only half a bottle of mayo and although Chihiro had also used her mayo, it was not a noticeable amount.

"So how much do I owe you for everything?" Natsuki asked while getting up to fetch another glass of water and her wallet.

"No, it's not a problem." Chihiro dismissed the offer, "It was to celebrate our first roommate bonding time." She reasoned. She got up to go lie down on the chair

"Ok, thanks, then next time its on me." Natsuki added and went back to sit at the table. Taking a sip of water, she thought of making tea, but decided against it because she was too lazy.

Awkward silence engulfed them so Natsuki decided to speak up. "So are you feeling better now?" she asked politely, hoping that the topic wasn't too personal.

"Yeah, I guess."

Natsuki laughed, "See! I told you that mayo makes everyone feel better. It certainly works for me." She chucked again, before finishing off her water and speaking again. She was excited that someone else could finally feel the magic that it held. "No seriously though, are you ok?"

"Its just…" Chihiro started, maybe talking about it would make her feel better. She felt bad about making Natsuki listen to her pathetic complaints, but hopefully, she didn't mind. "I think that the person I like, will never have the same feelings for me."

Natsuki heart lifted when she heard this statement. Had she misinterpreted what she had saw the other day at the park with her and Shizuru? "Oh, I see… So who is this person you like? What did he say that made you feel that way?" Natsuki had to play dumb; she didn't want her to think that she was stalking her.

"It wasn't really something that she had done… It was just what she had said." Chihiro responded, "I think I like my best friend, and in a way that is not appropriate. She's a girl…" she with huge blush as she tried to shed some light to make sure that Natsuki wasn't confused. The conversation was getting really uncomfortable now.

"Oh, I see… Is it… Shizuru?" Natsuki asked. She was pretty sure that it was, but she just wanted to make sure. With the confirmation by the nodding of her head, Natsuki continued. "What did she say to make you feel this way?" She felt bad because she was asking out of curiosity more than out of kind-heartedness of helping Chihiro.

"I didn't really tell her how I feel per-se, but I asked her what she thought about best friends being in love." Chihiro was starting to feel more uncomfortable as the conversation continued. She was talking about her personal life with someone she barely knew. They had known each other for about a week, and she didn't even know her name!

With a sigh, she continued. "She said… wait let me think… something along the lines of 'I think that being in love with your best friend would put you in the worst possible position.'"

Natsuki was getting a little worked up; she started twirling her empty cup on the table. It was like they were talking about her, even if she didn't know it. "Why would she say something like that?"

"Something about pretending to be just their friends, wearing a mask, and smiling when you're not even happy. I don't even see why she even feels that way." Chihiro started explaining. With another release of a sigh, she continued on. "She scared me from even telling her my feelings. She said something about how it's risky because you could 'lose everything in hopes to have a little more than what you already have' and other things like that."

At this moment, Natsuki not only felt angry and hurt, but also this last statement made her feel really guilty. What happened between her and Shizuru had really affected Shizuru's view on love. She had crushed all hopes in Shizuru's heart and scared her from loving again. Natsuki spoke up, "Oh, I see… Did you ask her why she had felt this way?" Natsuki was scared that maybe she Chihiro knew about her and her past with Shizuru. She knew that Chihiro knew enough, but she was just hoping that she didn't know how to connect the dots.

"No, I was kind of speechless after that, and then she had to leave to go to dinner with her family."

"Oh, I see…" Natsuki replied. She really didn't know what to say. She was never a people person in the first place. "I'm sure everything will work out fine." She said through gritted teeth, "I'm really not one you should be asking for romantic advice."

Chihiro laughed, "Love isn't one of you're strong departments either I take it?"

Natsuki got up, cup in hand and started walking towards her room. "You have no idea. Well, thanks for dinner yeah? I think I'm going to turn in early." She said with a slight smile to hide her raging emotions.

"Yeah, no problem. Thanks for talking to me. I hope we can have dinner together again soon." Chihiro added before getting up herself and walking to her room as well.

"Yeah, sounds great."

Once Natsuki was behind a closed door, she slammed the hand that she was holding her cup in against the wall. It broke into six pieces. The instant she did that, she regretted it with every fiber in her body, but what was done is done. Nothing can turn back the hands of time. Not for the cup, not for Chihiro, not for Shizuru, and definitely not for her.

**A/N:** Ok, sorry for not specifying earlier, but they dorm they Natsuki and Chihiro live in is apparently suite style. I didn't know either... Haha, sorry for being so disorganized. But at least I got an update up right? I wasn't planning on finishing this tonight, but I got so many reviews and I just had to do it! It's a slightly longer than usual!! I hope you liked it. Next chapter… Natsuki meets Shizuru –Reprise!! Excited?? Then please leave a review! I was actually have Shizuru meet her tonight, but… it didn't work out. Gomenne! Just one more chapter! Read and review onegaishimasu m(. .)m


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** お待たせしまいました。Omataseshimaimashita!

* * *

The next morning, Natsuki had left fairly early. She hoped not to see Chihiro, especially in the bad mood that she was sure to be in. She was indirectly responsible for the mood. Yesterday, Natsuki received a note that said that Natsuki's bike was finally delivered to the school and could pick it up from the schools mailing center anytime starting today. On the way out she made a note to herself to buy a new cup and threw out her old one. It sat sadly on the top of the trash and it broke Natsuki's heart how she had made such a stupid decision the night before. She had not thought of it at the time that she was destroying one of the few things she cared for. That one cup held great memories and she used it as a constant reminder of what she had lost.

When she arrived at school a quarter after eight, she realized that the school's mailing center wasn't even open, and even if it were, the mail probably wouldn't be able to pick it up until after noon. Not knowing what else to do with herself, she went into town to find a new cup, and replenish her mayo supply. She often felt insecure when she had less than four full bottles of mayo.

* * *

Shizuru had woken up puffy eyed and sore. She had cried the night before, but couldn't quite figure out why. It was like all the pent up emotions for over the last month had came out and drowned her. After seeing Natsuki in Fuuka, it seemed as if she was constantly haunted by her in everything she did and couldn't figure out why.

After her morning tea and a light breakfast, Shizuru decided to visit Chihiro and apologize for her childish outbreak yesterday and return the sweatshirt she borrowed. It was a little after 10 o'clock when she set off, making sure to grab a scarf and an umbrella so she wouldn't be caught in the cold and rain again. Shizuru was easily irritated today and even just the thought of walking 15 minutes to the dorms was a huge task. She thought about turning around seven minutes in, but figuring she was almost half way there, it was no use, and hopefully a friendly face would help her be at ease.

Upon arrival, she was greeted by no one. The dorms were a fairly safe place and Shizuru was not surprised to see that the door had been left unlocked. Most of the students were comfortable enough to leave their doors unlocked when someone was home. Shizuru entered and was hit by the stench of old pizza boxes and a mess on the table. By the looks of it, the residents of this room had a late dinner and slept without cleaning up after themselves. Shizuru took it in her liberty to clean up a little while she waited for Chihiro to wake up. After taking care of the dishes, she grabbed the empty pizza boxes, and grabbed the trash to take it out before the garbage men came. There she had seen the familiar cup again, but sadly, it was broken. It wasn't broken into many pieces, and looked like it could be easily fixed so she took the remains off the top of the trash and placed them in a plastic bag. This cup was so nostalgic to her and if it was nothing to someone else, they wouldn't mind it being taken.

After the room was cleaned up, Shizuru sat around for the next 30 minutes waiting for her friend to wake up. She calmly, quietly sat there waiting but she was getting tired and impatient so she just decided to come back later. She stopped by the convenience store to pick up super glue to fix the cup and something small to eat for lunch then headed home. Shizuru then spent the next hour and a half carefully gluing the cup back together perfectly. When finished, she set the cup aside to dry and cleaned up. It took a good ten minutes to get all the glue off her hands, but this small activity put her in high spirits. She was in a much better mood than she was this morning and decided to eat her lunch before heading back go Chihiro's place.

* * *

Shizuru got to the apartment just as Chihiro was finishing up her lunch. On the table sat, in Shizuru's opinion, one of the most vulgar things in the world, mayonnaise.

"Good morning" Shizuru said while taking off her shoes and entering the room.

"'Morning" Chihiro replied, her mouth semi-full with food.

"Ara, I didn't know you ate that…"

"Vegetables?" Chihiro was a little confused on what Shiruzu was talking about.

"No, _that._" She said pointing at the mayonnaise.

"Oh, yeah, its really good. Have you ever tried it?"

"Do you know what is in that?" Shizuru hadn't actually tried it, but knowing the ingredients and the look alone kept her far from it.

"Yes. Things that are bad for you, therefore, it tastes good." Chihiro said while waving a broccoli at Shizuru, trying to persuade her.

"Very well, but please eat it responsibly. I once had a friend who could eat it on anything. Even toast. In fact, I'm pretty sure she could eat it alone." Chuckling lightly at the memories. She could almost picture Natsuki taking off the top of the bottle and just drinking it just like a baby drinks milk.

"She should meet my roommate. I swear to god she put half a bottle on our pizza last night."

After taking a seat across the table, Shizuru spoke up again. "That reminds me, I stopped by earlier and cleaned up a little bit."

"Oh, thanks… Why?"

"I came to talk to you, but you were sleeping. I wanted to return your jacket, but most of all, I want to apologize for my inexcusable behavior last night. It was very rude of me, and you probably had something that you wanted to talk about." Shizuru explained with her hands folded neatly on the table. Sometimes, Chihiro thought that Shizuru was so proper, that it seemed like they were in a meeting.

"Its no problem." Chihiro had just finished eating and started stretching. "But, if you don't mind me asking, why is it that you feel that way?"

A million reasons hit Shizuru at that moment, but only one face could to mind. She was in deep thought when she was cut off by an annoying sound. "I'm sorry, I do not wish to speak about it."

The silence would have been awkward if the persistent sound hadn't keep getting louder. Emotions and thoughts caused Shizuru to return to her previous bad mood. "What is that sound?" She said while getting up and was walking towards the window.

"It's probably someone just riding by on their motorcycle or something." Chihiro reasoned.

Motorcycles, mayonnaise, teacups, awkward conversations, every little thing seemed to be pointing back to Natsuki. Scrunching her eyebrows and pinching the bridge between her eyes, Shizuru turned around to face the door. "I'm sorry, but would you please excuse me? It seems that this racket is given me a headache."

"Yeah, no problem. Do you want some aspirin?"

"No thanks. I should be fine." Shizuru said while exiting.

"Oh yeah, do you wanna have dinner later tonight?"

Not really listening to the conversation, she waved her hand, "If I'm feeling better, I'll try and stop by."

After leaving the room, Shiziru walked slowly walked back to her apartment and it started to rain. Even thought she had brought an umbrella with her earlier in the morning, the second time she left the house, she had forgotten it. By the time she was got to the elevator in her apartment complex, she was once again soaked from head to toe. She waited for the elevator and sneezed three times in a row.

"I must be getting sick." Shizuru thought out loud. "All of this, all of these hauntings, are they just payback for treating Natsuki so poorly while I was in Tokyo?" She added, resting her head on the wall.

"What if it is?" Another voice answered behind her. She jumped slightly, not knowing that there were others around her.

After slightly calming down, Shizuru turned around to see who was listening to her delirious ramblings and apologize, even if she did think it was rude for someone else to listen to her thoughts and comment on them. She was starting her apology and rubbed her temples but only to be stopped before anywords could come out.

Her eyes darted back and forth, 'I don't believe it…'

"…Natsuki…"

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A/N:** So… I kind of lied, but at least they did MEET… Just nothing was really said. Sorry if this chapter seemed to drag on, but I'm so indecisive so I just kept writing what came to my head. Also, I quite ADD, so I often forgot what I was trying to write. I promise I'll update soon because I left off at such a killer part. Motivation to write more is… reviews!! So please review and tell me how you guys feel about this!! I promise, the more reviews I get the sooner I'll update!! (Yes selfish, I know… :3) Again, I must apologize for this chapter, for it must have disappointed many of you… T.T


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** For those demanding longer chapters, this one was 3,000 words!! Ugh, sorry I took so long to update and again, but I had a really hard time with this chapter. OH yeah! **THANK YOU EVERYONE THAT LEFT REVIEWS!** I love you all!

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After Natsuki went to town to go shopping, she realized that she couldn't wait any longer for her bike. She had been deprived of it for several weeks now and she wanted to get it as soon as possible. After she got to town, she immediately got back on the train to wait at the school for her bike to arrive.

A little before noon, she finally got the OK to take her precious bike home. Even though the dorms were only a couple blocks away, she wanted to take her baby out for a spin. She ended up circling the block several times before finally parking it in the garage. She didn't have her parking permit yet, but there was no other place she could leave it.

Leaving the parking lot, Natsuki tried to look around for someone to ask to help her figure out what she should do about her bike. She loved the thing to death, and would probably go on a murderous rampage if it were to be towed. Upon looking around, Natsuki caught sight of something much more important to her than her bike, Shizuru.

Shizuru was walked past the large windows in front of the dorm before Natsuki finally snapped out of her daze and followed her. Compared to two years, these past couple of weeks wasn't long at all, but she felt that anytime apart from her was killing her slowly. Natsuki followed Shizuru like a lost dog, and while she was lost in her thoughts, they finally came to a stop. She didn't know what to say, but just as she was about to say hello, Shizuru sneezed and startled Natsuki. Natsuki didn't even notice until now that they were both soaking wet and that it had been pouring outside until those sneezes, and just as she was about to sneeze herself, she was forced to hold it in because Shizuru started talking.

"I must be getting sick." Shizuru said, confusing Natsuki. Natsuki turned her head left and right looking for whom she was talking to. Whilst Natsuki was looking around, Shizuru continued her conversation with the wall. "All of this, all of these hauntings, are they just payback for treating Natsuki so poorly while I was in Tokyo?"

"What if it is?" Natsuki responded without thinking. She could not hold back her tongue and just started talking.

"…Natsuki…" Shizuru dumbly responded. By the look on her face, it seemed like she had not been expecting to see Natsuki even in the area. Had Chihiro not told her about her that she was her roommate?

Natsuki tried to reach out and cup Shizuru's face, but she backed out of the way hitting the wall behind her. Natsuki, deeply hurt by that, tried to reach out one more time but before she could, Shizuru spoke up. "How'd you find me here?"

'How'd I find you?' Natsuki thought to herself. "Were you trying to hide from me?"

"Yes. No, I mean no, but still, you shouldn't have known I was here," Shizuru was getting nervous. There was no running now. The elevator door to her right opened with a ping. Shizuru glanced sideways, just wanting to run in and let the doors shut Natsuki and all her problems out. "What are you doing here?" She continued.

"I saw you walking down the street and then you turned into this building." Natsuki definitely felt the need to leave out the part where she had been following her for 15 minutes before that; it seemed that Shizuru already thought that she was stalking her.

The elevator doors closed again. Shizuru let out a sigh and got off the wall to push the button again. "No, I mean what are you doing here in Kyoto?"

Natsuki gave no answer and then the elevator doors opened again instantly because it had yet to change floors. Shizuru stepped inside and held the doors open, signaling for Natsuki to get in. Natsuki stared at her, wide-eyed before Shizuru continued. "Come up and get changed. You're going to get sick if you stay dressed like that."

Nothing was said and Shizuru leaned against the elevator wall. She was extremely drained of all energy and her headache just seemed to be getting worse and worse. She was actually breathing pretty hard and she closed her eyes waiting for the elevator to arrive at her floor.

Natsuki leaned against the back of the elevator watching Shizuru. Natsuki wasn't sure if she should feel relieved or worried about how much weakness Shizuru was showing. If she showed this must emotion through her mask, it either means that she was still so comfortable around Natsuki that she could express all her feelings, or that she was so stress and troubled, that she could no longer hide it within.

When they got to her room, she let Natsuki in right away. She did not care what state her room was in because she was too exhausted and stressed out. After stepping in, she took off her shoes and wet socks, and put her socks in the washing machine.

"I'll go get you a towel," Shizuru said "you should shower and warm up. After you shower put your wet clothes here in the washing machine and I'll lend you some of mine. We can talk after while we wait for the laundry." Shizuru was making herself busy, not even looking at Natsuki while Natsuki did as she was told. She would do anything as long as it meant that she could have time with Shizuru. Even though Shizuru didn't know it, Natsuki could now be around her so much more easily and she didn't feel so rushed.

Once she entered the bathroom, Natsuki started running the hot water and looked at herself in the mirror. She covered her face with her hands before sighing deeply. After she felt a little more relaxed, she took her heavy, wet clothes off, just to realize that she had nothing to change into. She called out through the door if she could borrow some clothes, but after no response, she put all of her clothes back on so she could go outside and ask.

Natsuki looked around, and then she spotted Shizuru sitting at the table with her elbows propped up and resting her chin on her fists. She had her eyes closed, as if she were in deep thought. Natsuki walked up to her and as she got closer, she realized that she was shaking a little bit. Natsuki shook her shoulder gently. Her clothes were so soaked, that a little water came out.

"Uhh, sorry, but could I borrow some clothes?" Natsuki asked even though Shizuru's eyes were still closed.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry, I'll go get them now." Shizuru left and returned with a large black sweatshirt with a hood, sweatpants and underwear. Natsuki took them from Shizuru's hands, and when they brushed over them, they felt ice cold. This caused Natsuki to look up, and noticed that Shizuru was slightly paler than usual, and her lips were a little blue. Natsuki put the clothes under her arms and grabbed both of Shizuru's hands with her own.

"You're freezing." Natsuki stated the obvious. She blew warm air into their hands while rubbing them together.

"I'm fine, just hurry and take a shower so I can take one afterwards." Shizuru reasoned. Reluctantly, Natsuki let go of her hands after rubbing them one more time and walked away.

Natsuki took her shower as fast as she could. After she got out, she put on the borrowed clothes and found them extremely comfortable. They were extremely soft and smelt like they were just washed, but Natsuki swore she could smell a small hint of tea on them. With her hair in disarray and wet clothes in hand, she stepped out of the bathroom and put them in the washing machine and went to the main room to find Shizuru.

Shizuru was still sitting at the table, but her head was down and she appeared sleeping. Natsuki was going to leave her there, but forgot that she was still in her wet clothes. She shook Shizuru by the shoulders but got no response but the opening of her eyes. Shizuru was too cold to move. By the time Shizuru was able to sit up, her hold body was shivering to keep her warm. Natsuki didn't know what to do and started panicking. She franticly started rubbing Shizuru's arms to keep her warm and hugged her tightly. Natsuki then tried to walk her over to the bathroom, but Shizuru could only walk at an extremely slow pace, so she picked her up and carried her.

Natsuki ran the water for the tub and Shizuru immediately got in without taking off any of her clothes. The tub wasn't filled at all yet so Natsuki rolled up her sleeves and started bucketing warm water over Shizuru's head to keep her warm. By the time the tub was filled about six inches, Shizuru was starting to warm up. She started to try to take off her wet clothes, but they were so heavy and she needed assistance. Once they got her shirt off, Natsuki started to ring it out while Shizuru started taking off her jeans. By the time the troublesome task of that was done, Natsuki took the wet outer garments and with a blush excused herself.

"Uh, you can take care of the rest from here right?"

"Yes, thank you. Sorry about that…" Shizuru explained, waiting for Natsuki to leave before she took off her underwear.

"No, I'm so sorry. I should've let you gone first, or taken a quicker shower…"

"It's fine. I'm ok, but unless Natsuki wishes for me to fully undress in front of her, it'd be best if she would step outside." Shizuru teased while submerging herself completely in the water.

With a huge blush and a pout on her face, Natsuki took the clothes and left, but right as she got in front of the door, her face returned to normal. "If you need anything, anything at all, just call," and with that, she exited.

After Natsuki left the room, she looked around Shizuru's new place. She wasn't surprised that it was clean to a fault, and that there were no traces of the past, or Natsuki for that matter, to be found. She was, although, jealous that there in the main room, sat a picture of Shizuru and Chihiro, yet not a single picture of Natsuki could be found anywhere. She left the living room and looked into Shizuru's bedroom. That room too, was clean as could be. As she entered, there were bloodstains on the carpet. They were faint, probably because it was well cleaned, but it couldn't be completely cleaned out. Natsuki entered and was enticed to sit on the bed, but it was so neatly made, she chose to sit at the desk. Everything was so organized, it was kind of making Natsuki sick. She decided to mess around with her a little, and tilted one of the textbooks a little to see if Shizuru would notice.

The chair was surprisingly comfortable and Natsuki just ended up twirling in it for almost ten minutes until something caught her eye. In the trash, there was a bloody piece of paper, surrounded by glass. She pulled it up and examined it. It was a picture of them two, although Natsuki could not recall when it was taken. It had to be around three to four years ago by the looks of it. It made her laugh, seeing how much simpler, fun and easy life used to be. It was a really cute picture, yet she wondered why it was in the trash, and better yet, why it had blood on it.

Shizuru finished up her bath and exited, wrapped in a towel. After getting out, Shizuru saw that Natsuki wasn't in the sitting room. She sighed, but couldn't figure out if it was because she was relieved that she was gone, or sad that she had left. She put the rest of her wet clothes in the washing machine and started it. She went to her bedroom to fetch her clothes and was shocked to see Natsuki sitting her desk holding something.

"Hey, I thought you had left." Shizuru said, walking towards her dresser.

"Do you want me to leave?" Natsuki asked, playing with the picture in her hand, spinning the chair to face Shizuru.

There was no answer as Shizuru continued in search for clothes to wear. After she chose just comfortable clothes to wear, she spoke up. "Thank you." She paused, looking at Natsuki's slightly confused face, she continued, "for earlier, I mean."

"Huh? Oh, no problem. It was my fault anyways. I hope you're ok." She said after realizing what Shizuru was talking about.

Shizuru excused herself to go put on her change of clothes and returned in a long sleeve shirt, sweats and with her hair brushed and slightly drier. She sat on the bed, bringing her legs to her chest, and hugged them. She curiously looked to see what Natsuki was holding but didn't ask anything. Natsuki followed Shizuru line of sight, and remembered that she was holding the picture.

"Oh sorry, I promise I don't normally go through people's trash, but it caught my attention." Natsuki tried to explain herself.

"Oh, it's ok. I understand." Realizing that she herself had done the same thing when she found the cup the other day. Craning her neck, still trying to see what it was that Natsuki was holding, Natsuki finally turned it around to face her. When she realized what it was, she returned to resting her chin on her knees.

Natsuki assumed by her silence that Shizuru wasn't going to offer the information, so she would have to ask. "What happened? How come it's covered in blood?" Natsuki was also curious and kind of hurt that it was in the trash, but with the state it was in, that was a good enough reason to throw it away.

"Just an accident." Shizuru replied, looking down at her feet.

"Also, you have a small blood stain on your carpet. How'd that happen?" She asked more.

"Also, just an accident." Shizuru simply replied. She didn't want Natsuki to know that what happened in Tokyo bothered her so much.

"Just an accident? Are you ok? Did someone hurt you?" Natsuki questioned. She placed the picture on the table and walked over to Shizuru trying to control her anger. She was getting irritated about how vague Shizuru was being and wanted to know what happened.

Shizuru was getting a little intimidated by Natsuki walking closer so she started straightening out her legs, which was a bad idea. After she had done this, Natsuki stopped advancing towards her and looked at her feet. In her right foot, there was a small scar about an inch and a half long that didn't look new, but hadn't healed completely. Shizuru had forgotten about it because after the first couple of days, she got used to the pain and almost completely forgot about it.

Natsuki slowly reached her hand out to touch it, and Shizuru quickly brought her legs back under her so she was sitting Indian-style.

Natsuki scoffed, "Let me guess. An accident?"

"Do you really want to know the truth?" Shizuru asked calmly while Natsuki took a seat to her left.

"Of course. I wasn't just asking you to be annoying."

"After I came back from Tokyo, it was late and I was tired. Once I saw that picture of us that I normally treasured, I got mad, angry, irritated, or whatever. I threw it. I threw it, the frame it was in shattered, and it gave me so much relief, I just fell straight to sleep." Shizuru paused, but before Natsuki could say anything, she continued. "The next morning, I woke up and completely forgot about it. I was mentally and physically drained and as I was walking out the door, a piece of glass got wedged into my foot. At that time, I was too tired to care, and just yanked it out, and walked away. But now, unfortunately, there is a stain that I can't get out and I'm constantly reminded about how unpleasant I was that day."

Shizuru finished talking and Natsuki said nothing. "So is that what you wanted to hear?"

Natsuki tried to grab the injured foot that was crossed over to her side to see how bad the scar was. Shizuru, noticing this action, unfolded her legs again which made Natsuki unable to reach it.

Natsuki gave up on that hope, and started stroking Shizuru's hair. It was slightly wet and free of knots, but not before long, Shizuru got up from the bed.

Natuski couldn't take this treatment anymore and grabbed her wrist before she could walk away. "What's wrong?"

Shizuru tried just walking away, hoping Natsuki would just let go, but that didn't happen. "What's wrong?" Natsuki asked again, "Why do you finch every time I slightly touch you? Its like you don't even trust me."

"I don't." Shizuru simply stated.

"You don't trust me?" Natsuki was losing her temper, letting go of her hand, "Wait, let me get this straight, _you _don't trust _me_? Lets not forget that _you_ are the one that left _me_, that _you_ are the one that deserted everyone and everything and here _I_ am trying to make things better!"

"How dare you make it sound like I hurt you Natsuki." Shizuru's anger matched Natsuki's. She looked away and walked over to her table and straightened out the book that Natsuki had moved, "I don't trust you anymore, I don't trust you anymore because I still love you!" Shizuru continued, not looking her in the face, "I don't only not trust you, I don't even trust myself… I won't let myself fall so low again. You hold so much power over me…"

With tears in her eyes, Shizuru's voice started shaking as her sentence started drifting off. Natsuki got off the bed and started to walk towards her to comfort her. Several steps in front of her, Shizuru stopped her, "Don't. Please, just don't."

Natsuki put her hands down, looking at her, not knowing what to do.

"Just leave." When Shizuru received no response they both just stood there.

"Please, just leave already." She begged again, tears slowly trickling down her face.

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A/N:** Length doesn't make it better yeah? Sorry, I tried, but I don't really like this chapter. I don't really know what I'm writing anymore and I'm sorry if it feels like its dragging out. Also, sorry if its getting boring T.T I'm trying!! Please, R&R!


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR REVIEWS!! I LOVE THEM ALL!! AND I'M EXTREMELY SORRY ABOUT THE LONG ASS WAIT!! I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!! :3**

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Natsuki was still processing all the new information when she was demanded to leave. A huge debate went on within her head. Should she leave like Shizuru wants? Or do as she herself wants, and stay? Natsuki calmed herself down and continued advancing towards Shizuru. Shizuru turned her back towards her.

"Please… Just…" Shizuru spoke, trying to hold her tears in. Shizuru's breath hitched when she felt arms circling in on her from behind. Natsuki held onto her as if her life depended on it. It was hurting Shizuru how tight she was being held, but she could feel the desperation in it. She could feel Natsuki's heart racing on her back.

"Please…" Shizuru cried out this time. It was hard to tell if she was still pleading for Natsuki to leave, or for her to continue hugging her.

"I love you…" Natsuki finally admitted to Shizuru and to herself. It was the first time in a long time Natsuki was sure she wanted something and she was confidant in the way she spoke. Shizuru was motionless. She stood there with wide eyes and she felt her heart starting to beat faster. She was scared. When you chase something for so long, what to do when you finally catch it?

"I don't want to leave you, please let me stay with you." Natsuki continued, in a whisper. If her mouth wasn't right next to Shizuru's ear, she probably would not have heard it. Natsuki loosened her grip on Shizuru so it wasn't so uncomfortable. She already knows how much she needs her. As they both relaxed a little, Natsuki rested her chin on Shizuru's shoulder. Natsuki was extremely nervous, Shizuru hadn't said a word yet and she wanted to kiss her, but could she be so bold?

Just as Shizuru was about to open her mouth to speak, Natsuki planted a small kiss on her cheek. Shizuru turned her head to try to look at the other girl, and Natsuki kissed her cheek again, this time, a little closer to her lips. Just as Natsuki was about to kiss her again, she was cut off, "Why?"

Natsuki was confused, 'Why what?' she thought to herself. As if Shizuru could read her mind, she answered her question.

"Why, after all these years, why now?" Shizuru turned around and stepped away to look at Natsuki.

"What makes you say that, now after two years?" Shizuru continued to question her, still putting more space between them.

Natsuki did not say a word standing there, and Shizuru backed up so much, she was up against the wall, as far away from her as possible. Natsuki tried to close the space between them by walking back towards her but was stopped by Shizuru's next words.

"Is it really me that you love?" Natsuki gave a questioned look as she continued, "Or the attention I gave you?"

At first, Natsuki found this question absurd, of course it was Shizuru that she loved. But as the seconds passed, she really started to question herself. Was it really Shizuru that she missed, or just the attention that she gave?

After a minute of silence, Shizuru spoke up again. "I feel that we both need time to think things over, so I ask again, please leave." No emotion was shown on her face, but Natsuki could see that her eyes were watering. It must have been just as hard for Shizuru as it was for her, so she decided to comply with her wishes.

Natsuki left the bedroom and heard the washing machine still on. Her clothes were still being washed, but it was ok. She could come back and get it some other time, and if not, it was something that Shizuru could keep. She would gladly give everything and anything to her, even the clothes off of her back.

When Natsuki was about to put on her shoes, she noticed that they were still a little bit wet. Shizuru came out holding a pair of dry socks and an umbrella and handed them to her. After putting on her shoes and standing up, Natsuki slowly grabbed the doorknob.

"Both," she said while opening the door. Shizuru with her perfect smile on her face raised her eyebrows and tilted her head to show that she didn't know what she was talking about.

"You were right, I loved the attention that you gave me back then," Natsuki started explaining, "but I love you more."

Natsuki didn't want to hear anymore of Shizuru's doubts, so after she finished talking, she quickly stepped outside and shut the door behind her.

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Natsuki's journey home was a quick one. She walked quietly down the empty streets in the warmth of Shizuru's clothes and under the shelter of Shizuru's umbrella. Natsuki felt like she was under the protection of Shizuru and she loved the feeling. Shizuru is always looking out for her and protecting her, and she started to wonder how she did not notice how much she was loved in high school.

Natsuki wanted to go for a ride to clear her head, but because she doesn't know the roads well yet and because of the rain, she decided against it. With nothing else to do, she decided to take a nap. The day was a very tiring one and she had a major headache because of the past events.

Natsuki woke up couple hours later around 10 to an empty stomach and voices in the other room. Standing up too quickly, she grabbed the edge of her bed with one hand and her head with the other to stop her mind and body from spinning around. Still half asleep, she walked towards the door the voices becoming clearer and louder. She stopped just short of turning the handle when she heard a familiar voice.

Natsuki stood at the door for a couple of minutes, debating if it was worth it to go outside. She didn't want to interrupt the conversation, but yet she was hungry and needed to get out of her room. Natsuki decided against it and just sat on the floor with her legs crossed and her back leaning against the door.

"Sorry for dropping by so late," Shizuru said as she stepped into the dorm room. "I wasn't able to make it for dinner, but I thought I'd just drop by for a little while." Shizuru causally lied.

As always, when with Natsuki, she forgets her engagements with Chihiro. After Natsuki left, Shizuru didn't want to be alone, and maybe, by being with someone else she is familiar with would make her feel better.

Chihiro was already in her pajamas and had just got out of the shower. She had her towel on her shoulders and toothbrush in her mouth when Shizuru knocked on the door. Truthfully, she had forgotten that Shizuru was supposed to come over as well.

"You didn't have to come over you know," Chihiro said before walking over to the bathroom to rinse out her mouth. After she finished cleaning up, she stepped back into the main room. "But thanks anyways."

"No, its no problem. Sorry we haven't been able to see each other lately, I've been a little... preoccupied." Shizuru said making herself a cup of tea. Shizuru felt like she was intruding by being there after her invitation had expired and then making herself at home, but she really needed to be around a friend and a hot cup of tea.

"So how have you been lately?" Chihiro asked, sitting down at the table. Shizuru soon joined her, bringing two cups of tea.

"Fine, I just need to some time to relax though." Shizuru said taking the seat across from Chihiro.

"Relax?" Chihiro asked confused, "It's break, we don't have school, what do you need to relax from?"

Shizuru took a sip from her cup before placing it down. She then looked left and right before lowing her head closer to the table. Chihiro was a bit confused, but did the same before Shizuru started whispering, as if telling a secret, "Do you believe in karma?"

Chihiro sat back up and thought Shizuru was joking. She looked at her disbelievingly, but Shizuru kept looking at her waiting for an answer. "Uh, yeah… I guess…"

Shizuru sat back up, and took another sip of her tea. "Are you ok?" Chihiro asked, "You seem a little… distraught… Is something bothering you?"

"It's just… I don't know how to explain it… I've been overwhelmed by so many things recently. I just want to forget everything and relax." She started explaining, "I ran away from my past for the last two years, but in the last couple weeks, it all caught up to me. It feels like I can't escape it any more, no matter how hard I try."

Chihiro had never seen Shizuru show so many emotions, or talk so easily about herself before. Whatever was bothering her must have been a huge weight to carry. Chihiro hadn't touched her tea yet because she just brushed her teeth, but seeing that Shizuru's cup was empty, she pushed hers across the table onto her side. Shizuru kindly accepted with a slight bow of her head and started drinking from the other cup. Chihiro got up from the table and walked over to the more comfortable chairs.

The second cup was finished quickly, and Shizuru joined Chihiro on the other side of the room. Chihiro then continued the conversation.

"What is it that you're trying to get away from so badly?"

Shizuru sat on the same couch, but didn't say a word. Chihiro was about to turn on the TV, but after looking in Shizuru's eyes, she realized this was a much more serious conversation than she thought it was going to be.

Shizuru's eyes were glossy with tears from the thoughts about Natsuki. "Heartbreak…" she finally answered. In attempts to find comfort in her friend, Shizuru threw Chihiro into a fierce hug.

"Woa, woa…" Chihiro was definitely surprised by this sudden action and put her hands up not knowing what to do. She slowly started encircling her friend in a hug and patted her back, "it's ok…" She whispered. Shizuru started to weep silently, and Chihiro continued to comfort her, stroking her hair. "Shh… Shh… You're ok." She hushed her.

Shizuru's sobs weren't calming down so Chihiro place a light kiss on her cheek. Shizuru's actions instantly stopped, she couldn't think anymore. Chihiro gently grabbed Shizuru's face in her hands and stroked the tears away. She looked into her eyes, but unable to read anything they were saying. Shizuru's secrets were too dark and deep to figure out without her telling her. She rested her head against hers and their noses touched. Since Shizuru was not backing away, she took this opportunity to kiss her on the lips.

It was gentle at first, light and small, but then she kissed her again, trying to transmit her feelings through it. Shizuru closed her eyes and knit her eyebrows. At first she just took the kiss, but with the second one, she deepened it. She couldn't tell what she wanted, but this intimacy and comfort was such a good feeling, she wanted to continue it.

"What are we doing?" Shizuru asked in a quiet voice after the second kiss, eyes still closed.

"We're just comforting each other," Chihiro said before she initiated another one.

"How?" Shizuru asked again, breaking the kiss, but not the mood.

"By kissing," Chihiro stated simply with a small grin.

Shizuru was about to lean forward into another small 'comfort kiss' but when she heard a loud sound come from the other room, she bolted to her feet.

"Holy crap!" Chihiro jumped up as well, quickly brushing herself off and running to the room where the loud bang came from. Shizuru stayed in the other room, straitening herself up. She swore she heard someone say, "Stop it, Shizuru!" but Chihiro seemed to be indifferent, so she just brushed it off as another hallucination. Chihiro knocked on the door twice and opened it without waiting for an answer.

The occupant of the room was not expecting the door to open and when it did, she stood there dumbly. Her hair was thrown all over in her face, her left hand covering her face, her right in a tight fist, bleeding.

The moment the door opened, Shizuru's eyes widened with horror and froze in her spot. She couldn't hear anything and all of her senses turned off. Chihiro ran past her to go to the bathroom to get medical supplies.

"Natsuki…" Shizuru started walking forward, "Did you hear us, just now?" She was caught by Natsuki yet again. History sure has a shitty way of repeating itself. Natsuki turned to the side, avoiding her Shizuru's face at all costs.

"Natsu…ki…" Shizuru said while reaching out for the other girl's hand. Mental images started flashing through Natsuki's head. She pictured her most important person kissing her roommate, while her hands were all over her body, the same hands that were reaching out to touch her now.

"No!" Natsuki yelled while backing up. If possible, this scream was much more haunting than the first one. This one was filled with a different kind of disgust, along with anger, frustration, and hurt.

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A/N:** Bum _bum_ **bum!** So the drama ensues! I just want to thank you all again for those of you who commented! I'm SOO extremely sorry for the long wait. I have no excuse. D; I tried to write what most people wanted, but then at the end, I just wrote where ever my mind went. Sorry if this is not where you wanted the story to go. Please leave comments and reviews and how you want the story to go and I'll try writing it that way! I'm looking forward to your reviews!! And I'll try update soon! (Definitely not as long as this one took. I pinky promise!)


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Ok. Fast right? I hope it's to your likings. **Thank you** all for such wonderful reviews!! I'm glad so many of you liked the last chapter so much, but I wish to apologize to those who were disappointed!!

* * *

Shizuru retracted her hand and stood where she was. She was too afraid to take another step forward and Chihiro walked up to the two awkwardly with the first aid kit in hand. Chihiro slowly walked up to Natsuki, her eyes darting back and forth between the two. As she asked what happened as she reached out to grab Natsuki's hand. Natsuki was finally pulled out of her daze when she felt the slight pain of someone else's hand on hers.

"Nothing, I'm fine." She said, pulling her hand away.

Chihiro was shocked when Natsuki pulled away but tried to grab her hand again, "Here, let me see."

"I said I'm fine! Don't touch me!" Natsuki said harshly.

Natsuki started heading towards the door, her hand still in a fist. "I'm going out." She added, grabbing her helmet. "_Please_, you two, _take your time_." She added, dripping with sarcasm. "I won't be back tonight." She exited her own bedroom and grabbed her shoes from the entrance and walked out the door, slamming it behind her.

The two remaining occupants stood in the room silently for 10 seconds until Shizuru dashed out of the room without a word. Chihiro was left in the room standing by herself, not having a clue what was going on at all.

"What the fuck?" She said to herself, with first aid kit still in hand. As she closed the door to Natsuki's room, she noted the blood on the edge of the table, figuring that's what took Natsuki's blow. Chihiro put the kit away and sat back at the table. Finally being able to think, she sat, wondering what just happened.

"Natsuki… Natsuki…" Chihiro repeated while the last five minutes repeated in her head. Finally it dawned on her. "Holy… fuck… That's why she looked so familiar…" She said to no one, but with the surprise of what just hit her, she couldn't keep quiet. She couldn't believe that her roommate was the girl in the picture in Shizuru's room.

* * *

Shizuru was able to catch Natsuki at the elevator, but the moment that she spotted her, Natsuki quickly turned to the stairs. Throwing the door open, Natsuki started sprinting down the stairs, but before she was more than four stairs down, her right hand was caught when it swung back. Shizuru grabbed the arm and tugged the body attached to it, making sure it wouldn't get away.

Natsuki would not have normally stopped and just kept running, but in the state her hand was in, if anyone pulled on it a little, it would have just felt better to rip it off. To keep the offender from pulling her arm anymore, she took a step back up.

"Natsuki…" Shizuru could not think of any words to fix what she had just done.

"Let go!" Natsuki turned around and faced her. She grabbed Shizuru's wrist that was holding her. Natsuki knew that Shizuru was strong, but if she really wanted to get out, she could, but she didn't want to hurt the other girl, even if she did just break her heart.

Shizuru instantly let go when she realized that she was grabbing Natsuki's hurt hand, yet Natsuki didn't run away. Shizuru took this opportunity to grab her hand again, but this time gently. She took it in both her hands, her fingers gently going over Natsuki's swollen knuckles.

"Come," Shizuru spoke up, "let's clean this up." Without thinking, she started walking back up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Natsuki asked, "You're kidding me right? Like hell I'm going back in there with you two." Natsuki was able to pull her hand out of the grasp easily this time around. Natsuki started down the stairs, determined for her bike ride.

"Natsuki…" Shizuru cried out trying to get her attention. Natsuki kept walking, and Shizuru kept talking. "Natsuki, where do you think you're going? You know you can't drive like that…"

"Yes I can. I have driven in worse conditions than this and you know it."

Shizuru not so much worried about her hand more so than her mental stability. She knew that Natsuki went on bike rides at high speeds to help her clear her head, and with her hurt hand and the wet roads, she was surely going to end up in the same condition as she did when she found out about her mother. Shizuru jogged down the stairs the catch up with Natsuki.

"Here, come to my place and we can take care of your hand and then we can talk." Shizuru was using her dominating tone now. It wasn't a suggestion, it was an order.

Natsuki whipped her head around, "And why would I do that? Like I said, I'm fine. Just leave me alone." Shizuru continued her stern look when Natsuki spoke again, "Look, I left you alone even though I didn't want to when you said you needed time to think didn't I?"

"Natsuki… I…" Shizuru said, her voice starting to wavier. Going back into her more confidant tone, she continued, "If you listen to me now, I will leave you alone for how ever how long you may want."

Natsuki was quick to agree on this. As of right now, she wanted Shizuru out of her life as fast as possible for good. She knew that she was just in a bad mood, and she would be strongly disappointed if she never saw her again, but she just wanted it out of her hair and to be alone.

Natsuki slouched her shoulders a little, signaling that she accepted these terms. Shizuru walked past Natsuki and she obediently followed. It was a cold and quiet walk in the dark of the night. The ground was wet, but at least it stopped raining. Natsuki followed Shizuru two steps behind the whole way, yet Shizuru never looked back to see if she was still there.

* * *

Shizuru opened the door and let her guest in. Once Natsuki entered the room, she took off her shoes and sat at the table. From her seat, she could see her clothes hanging on the doorsill and on the table sat the picture of the two. Shizuru must have been sitting here before she left because she spotted a teacup. Upon closer examination, Natsuki was able to recognize the cup.

"Where did you get this cup…" Natsuki asked, speaking the first words since they left the dorms.

Shizuru's eyes widened when seeing the cup. "I should've known…" she paused then laughed at her own stupidity, "I can't believe I never noticed…" She didn't answer the question, because the thought of the carelessness of not being able to see what's directly in front of her filled her mind.

Shizuru joined Natsuki at the table after taking off her shoes. "It's yours isn't it?" There was no answer, but Shizuru already knew it so it didn't matter. "What happened to it?"

"It doesn't matter." Natsuki replied curtly.

Shizuru was absorbed in her thoughts when Natsuki got impatient. "You said you loved me." She said. "Then you said you needed time. Is this some kind of test? Is it over yet? Did I pass?" Natsuki was gripping the cup tightly, forcing blood out of her cuts.

In that moment, Shizuru was reminded of the cuts and ran to the kitchen to grab paper towels to stop the blood. After quickly handing Natsuki the paper towels, she went to the bathroom to get supplies to care for her hand.

While Shizuru was tending to the hand, she decided to speak up again. "I'm sorry." She said simply.

"For what?" Shizuru hated when Natsuki was in a bad mood. She was so hard to handle. "For you falling in love with someone else? You shouldn't be sorry, that's actually my fault. What else should I expect after, what, two years?"

"No, that's not what I meant."

"Oh, so you're not sorry? For what then? Kissing my roommate when I was in the other room after I just told you I loved you?"

"I didn't know you were there!" Shizuru tried to defend herself.

"So that makes any it better?!"

Shizuru knew that Natsuki would be difficult to talk to when she was in this mood, but there was no one else to blame but herself. "That's not what I meant, and you know it." She finished cleaning the cut and wrapped the bandage around her hand. She pulled it tight, which in turn caused Natsuki to flinch.

Natsuki sighed, "Why'd you bring me here?"

"I just wanted to explain. I did not go there planning on that happening. I swear." Shizuru could not understand why she was defending herself when she was the one pushing Natsuki away only hours ago. Shizuru unconsciously started stroking Natsuki's hands in her own. The contact was starting to get uncomfortable, but Natsuki did not pull away.

"It's fine. You don't have to explain yourself. I just thought you said you loved me…"

Shizuru got up from her seat and walked to the other side of the table next to Natsuki. "I did…" She whispered, running her hands through Natsuki's hair. "I do…"

Shizuru placed her hand on Natsuki's cheek and leaned down and laid a gentle kiss on her lips. Natsuki slowly closed her eyes. When a second kiss did not come, she opened her eyes. She saw Shizuru in front of her with a soft, gentle smile.

"Is this another test…" Natsuki asked, her voice cracking.

"Why would Natsuki say that?" Shizuru tilted her head a little to the left.

"Your actions are complete contradictions to what they were earlier!" Her voice cracked again.

Shizuru leaned in for another gentle kiss. "Shizuru, if this is another test to see how far you can push me, I'm going to fail…" Natsuki said, accepting another chaste kiss.

Shizuru pulled back far enough so she could smirk. "Good." She said before diving into a passionate kiss.

**

* * *

A/N:** Next chapter: SMEX?? Yeah, sorry, I don't think so. I can't write stuff like that. But if someone else would like to rise up to the challenge, be my guest! Sorry. Also, sorry because I'm extremely tired. I wanted to add more so I'm sorry for it being short again and if was rushed, but I'm going to pass out in like five minutes. I had to get this out tonight (well technically this morning) because I PINKY PROMISED! I never go back on a pinky promise!! I won't be able to update again soon because I'm going back to Japan. Damn I hate studying. So much work. So after I go through orientation and I get settled into my host family, then I can start writing again, so it probably won't be for another week or two at the least. Plus, I believe the end is nearing. Maybe one more chapter and an epilogue? Maybe just one more chapter. I'll see how the end one goes. Again, any ideas, hopes, etc. please leave a review!! I'll be looking forward to them!


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** ** OMG OMG OMG. I'M SO TERRIBLY SORRY FOR THE EXTREMLY LONG DELAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!** If anyone still would kindly read this **final** chapter for this story… Even if I made you wait over four months for it, I would be ever so grateful!!!!!! *bows over and over again* Oh, BTW, I tried to clean up the other chapters so that there are less typos and it flows a little better, but nothing that you should be able to tell that there was a difference.

* * *

"Shizuru, if this is another test to see how far you can push me, I'm going to fail…" Natsuki said, accepting another chaste kiss.

Shizuru pulled back far enough so she could smirk. "Good." She said before diving into a passionate kiss.

With those words, Natsuki instantly broke down. She had every right to take what she wanted right? Natsuki brought her right hand up to softly stroke Shizuru's cheek and was slightly disappointed that her palm was covered in bandages so she couldn't feel all of Shizuru's face. With the tips of her fingers, she gently played with the ends of Shizuru's hair and then took control and deepened the kiss.

Natsuki's other hand slowly made it's way around the back of Shizuru's neck and then she started to stand up from her seat to get into a better position. Trying to get more into the kiss, Natsuki pushed up against Shizuru more and more which ended up backing her up into the sofa. Shizuru was now seated and Natsuki was lingering above her. In order to breathe, Natsuki tilted her head forward so she rested her forehead against Shizuru's.

This sudden show of dominance, lust, and need scared Shizuru. She never, in her wildest dreams, could imagine this happening. Well, that was a lie. Shizuru dreamed about this day over and over and in many different situations, but for this to actually be reality, now that was something new and hard for her to grasp.

Shizuru opened her eyes and between slight pants she stared into those glowing eyes. _These_ were almost the same eyes that she used to know. These eyes were not dead like the ones she saw at the graduation, but one that were given a second chance to live. Seconds past, no one breaking eye contact. Shizuru could only desire and hope in Natsuki's eyes, yet Natsuki started to feel uneasy. At first, Natsuki saw lust and passion burning as red as her eyes, but as this staring contest continued, she started to see doubt and disbelief.

"What…?" Natsuki started to feel uncomfortable. The confidence that drove her actions earlier were now gone. She started to feel as if this is not what Shizuru wanted and started to feel embarrassed at her actions. Natsuki got off of Shizuru and moved away so she could have the space that she seemed to now want.

Shizuru started the laugh quietly to herself. "What?" Natsuki asked again. She was getting upset now. Shizuru was the one who had made advances first!

"This can't be, can it?" Shizuru said, not even talking to Natsuki. She got off of the sofa, laughing a little harder, "There's no way."

Natsuki watched Shizuru walk to the kitchen alone. She was confused by her new actions, now she was just ignoring her. "Shizuru, what?" In last-ditch efforts to keep their relationship, she almost begged.

"There is just _no_ way. This is just another dream… Wow, it's been so long since I had one of these…" Still not facing Natsuki. She drank a glass of water before making her way back towards the table. "This week must have been too much for me to handle that it's seeped into my dreams."

Natsuki watched Shizuru grab the picture of the two that was sitting on the table, "Shizuru, what are you talking about. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry if I've upset you."

These words fell on deaf ears and Shizuru leaned against the wall before sliding down, sitting with her legs stretched out in front of her. Picture in hand, tears started forming. Shizuru's hand dropped to her sides as the tears started flowing out freely now.

"Shizuru. Shizuru, baby look at me. Are you ok?" Natsuki said after running to her side. Natsuki was hovering over Shizuru again, holding her face in her hands, gently wiping the tears away. "Shizuru, baby, tell me, what's wrong."

"Only in my dreams" Shizuru's voice cracked, "Only in my dreams could something like this happen." Shizuru grabbed one of the hands that held her face and rubbed her cheek against Natsuki's soft palm, trying to gather all the warmth and love she could from it.

"Shizuru," Natsuki taking firm hold of her face making her look at her, "Shizuru, this isn't a dream."

Shizuru's eyes widened, yet still held a look of disbelief. "Shizuru, believe me. This isn't a dream." Natsuki continued, trying to comfort her and bring her back. She kissed her lightly. "Please baby," starting to tear up herself, "please believe me…"

"Natsuki…" Shizuru leaned a little towards her, "Natsuki… Even if this is just a dream, there is no way I can ignore you when you're being so sweet to me." Shizuru snapped back to reality and kissed Natsuki. 'Even if this is just a dream, I'll take full advantage of it…'

"My heart is aching so much, this can't be just a dream." Shizuru was now trying to convince herself. Natsuki pulled away and grabbed Shizuru's hands. She started to pull her up but half way up, Shizuru fell back down on her butt. Shizuru let out a loud laugh while Natsuki was a bit worried. "Now my butt is aching so much, I _know_ this can't be just a dream."

After they laughed a little together, Shizuru stood back up. Natsuki was feeling a little bold again and ran her fingers just under the hem of Shizuru's shirt, "Maybe if I distract you, you won't feel that pain."

"Ooh, someone's feeling a little bold now aren't we?" Shizuru teased.

"Shizuru! Seriously? Teasing me at a time like this? Jeez, come on! Now the mood is ruined." Natsuki started to sulk like a little kid.

"And _what_ mood was that, _my_ Natsuki?" Shizuru teased again. Natsuki was glad to see that Shizuru was back to her normal self. She hadn't seen a playful Shizuru in years, but at a time like this? Come on, couldn't it wait till tomorrow?

Shizuru felt bad for teasing Natsuki and tried to make it back up to her. "Do you mean, _this_ mood?" Shizuru leaned in for another kiss.

"Exactly." Was the only word Natsuki could utter. Natsuki push herself against Shizuru where Shizuru got stuck between her and a wall. Shizuru ran her fingers all through Natsuki's hair while Natsuki right hand was up against the wall and her left hand slowly made its way down Shizuru's body.

Shizuru was a little surprised when Natsuki's cold hand reached back under her shirt, but quickly followed the cue. One of her hands stayed entangled in Natsuki's hair, while the other started heading towards her jeans.

Natsuki let out a moan before moving from Shizuru's lips to her neck. Natsuki's pants were undone and Shizuru then lifted Natsuki's shirt over her head and tossed it on the ground. Now that she was wearing a lot less clothes than Shizuru, Natsuki tried to even the odds by removing the other girl's shirt. Still holding the shirt in her right hand, she used her other to roam freely over her body. Neither of the two really knew what they were doing, but they did whatever felt natural to them.

"Come," Shizuru whispered, gently holding Natsuki's injured hand. She walked towards her bedroom when Natsuki finally dropped the shirt and obediently followed.

* * *

It was past one when the phone rang as the two lay in bed together. "Don't answer it." Natsuki just wanted the two to be alone for at least one night.

Shizuru's machine picked it up. "Uhh… Shizuru, this is Chihiro… Natsuki hasn't come back yet and I hope you found her… I'm sorry I didn't notice who she was earlier… So yeah… I hope everything worked out between you two all right. So, just call me later? Ok, bye…"

Natsuki laughed, "Haha, oh boy… How are we going to face her tomorrow?"

Shizuru just snuggled up to her long lost love, loving the feel of her bare skin against the other girl's. "Mmm... That sounds nice…"

"Huh?" Natsuki asked completely confused.

Closing her eyes, Shizuru took a deep breath, "The use of 'we' and 'tomorrow' in the same sentence."

Just like that, the two fell asleep, exhausting from the roller coaster of a day. They slept with the dreams of their future and, although some people may hate to have had the past these two shared, Shizuru and Natsuki both accepted it. Without all of their hardships, they wouldn't be exactly where they are today.

**

* * *

Omake**

Shizuru: This is just a dream… It has to be…

Natsuki: Yup. It's time for you to wake up.

Shizuru wakes up alone in bed.

Shizuru: Damn it! I should've just let it play out first~! ToT

**A/N:** And??? How was it??? I know I made you wait so long, and I'm so glad you read it!!! Please leave your thoughts and comments!! They are extremely important to me!! I have absolutely no excuse for taking this long, but it is now near 4 in the morning and I have my first day of school tomorrow… So I hope it was at least a little worth your while. I know this probably isn't what you were expecting after taking so long. I wish I could write more/better but I phail. D; also, yeah. No sex. Too awkward… X.x

I want to thank you guys for reading this story all the way through, I really appreciate it a lot. Also, those who have left reviews and comments, I love you guys to death! Many of them were important to writing this story. In fact, without them, I wouldn't have continued this at all.

It was a fun story, and I plan on writing again soon if I could get any ideas! (Damn, all the good ones are already taken!!) Again, any ideas or suggestions, just PM me or leave a comment! **Thanks again! Much love yo!**~ Stars.


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